ANO minister: PM's appeal to food producers was spoken "like a true communist"

Karel Havlíček from Andrej Babiš's ANO party said on a CNN Prima News programme on Sunday that Prime Minister Petr Fiala had spoken "like a hardened communist" when he had called on food companies with record profits to reduce consumer prices. He compared his appeal to the statements of former communist leader Milouš Jakeš, who in one of his speeches criticised the increased incomes of some pre-Velvet Revolution artists.

The prime minister said on Thursday that some food companies that requested government aid last year had subsequently made record profits and that he found it distasteful when the owners of such companies blamed the government for not doing anything about the cost of living when they could reduce prices in their own companies with a single decision.

Former prime minister Andrej Babiš's Agrofert conglomerate reported a profit of around 13 billion crowns last year, more than double what it was the previous year.