Hřib and Okamura Unexpectedly Agree: Budget Deficit Is Too High

Prague politician and Pirates party leader Zdeněk Hřib and SPD chairman Tomio Okamura have found themselves in surprising agreement over the draft state budget: both consider the planned deficit of 389 billion crowns excessive.

“This is, of course, a disgrace and a failure,” Hřib said of the proposed deficit. He pointed out that of the total deficit, investments account for only about 288 billion crowns. “In effect, that's 100 billion crowns we're simply eating through,” the politician stressed. He also criticized the coalition's recent changes to budget rules pushed through the Chamber of Deputies, calling them “the law on Czechia's bankruptcy.”

Okamura Is Unhappy Too, But for His Own Reasons

The SPD leader admitted that he also dislikes the proposed size of the deficit. “I'm not satisfied with the size of the deficit. In my view, it's too high, so we too will push for it to be reduced,” Okamura said.

According to him, SPD sees room to save a few billion crowns more in certain ministries. At the same time, he partly attributed the current shape of the budget to unpaid obligations left behind by the previous government — including social benefits and transport infrastructure spending.

Rising National Debt Will Hit Mortgages

Hřib warned that the state's growing debt burden could be felt by ordinary families too. In his view, weakening confidence in the state's creditworthiness could push up interest rates not only on government borrowing but on loans taken out by ordinary people.

“This will affect loan rates too, including mortgages,” he said, adding that an average family could end up paying more than a thousand crowns extra per month on their mortgage as a result.

Okamura, in response, pointed to the growth of the national debt under the previous government. “I think our shared goal is to bring these deficits down,” the SPD chairman concluded.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz