Czech mortgages rose instead of the cut Babiš had promised

A year ago, Andrej Babiš's ANO party won Czech parliamentary elections, promising voters cheaper mortgages, cheaper petrol and the abolition of some fees. A year on, a popular satirical show about Czech politics has pointed out that some of these promises remain unfulfilled — and on mortgage rates, things have actually got worse.

The main example is mortgages. When ANO won the election last October, the average interest rate on mortgage loans in Czechia stood at 4.5%. It has now risen to almost 5.5% — higher than under the previous government of Petr Fiala. Cheaper mortgages were one of ANO's key campaign promises, so the satirists didn't miss the chance for irony. True to the show's tradition, the one "to blame" for all this is Czech National Bank governor Aleš Michl.

Other promises got the same treatment. Ending the "robbing" of pensioners was supposed to happen right after the election, but no real pension increase is yet in sight. Nor is there any rush to abolish part of the TV licence fee — Czech Television is already cutting staff without it. And as for Babiš's promised "exclusive plan" to cut petrol prices, no details have emerged so far.

Read also: Mortgage in Czechia for a foreigner: who qualifies and how much of your own money is needed

Source: seznamzpravy.cz