What consequences would a complete takeover of ČEZ by the state have, and do minority shareholders really only care about profit, as Andrej Babiš claims? Did Transport Minister Martin Kupka speak out and is the current government under pressure? The heavy-duty topic of energy and the completion of nuclear blocks simply and with an overview in the new Hrotcast with Markéta Mala and Pavel Štrunec. The chairman of the opposition ANO, Andrej Babiš, spoke to the prestigious Bloomberg agency about the possible buyout of the shares of minority shareholders of ČEZ. According to him, this step could lead to full control of the energy company by the state, which should simplify large investments, such as the construction of new nuclear units in Dukovany. "Minority shareholders only care about profit, not people," said the former prime minister. His words were intended to increase citizens' confidence in the fact that the fully state-owned ČEZ would not only think about profits, but would also take strategic and social goals into account. "Andrej Babiš said in an interview that he would buy back minority shares from dividends. That's pretty simplistic. What he meant by that was that ČEZ would buy them out, which would then not pay dividends to the state for some time," points out Echo24 editor Markéta Malá in the new Hrotcast. Babiš's ANO movement has long been the favorite in polls for the parliamentary elections that will take place next year. His statement thus provoked passionate reactions. According to Malá, however, the most interesting is the one that came up with the Minister of Transport from the ODS, Martin Kupka. "In every civilized country, every normal politician defends himself like hell with such a statement. Andrej Babiš has already taken hundreds of millions more out of the wallets of all taxpayers," he declared. However, the economic journalist emphasizes that such a statement is at least remarkable. "Because it looks as if the minister said something he shouldn't have said under pressure." One possible explanation is that if the government were to buy out minority shareholders, the operation would become noticeably more expensive due to the higher price of the shares, which strengthened after Babiš's statement. And the government would be under pressure. According to Malá, Babiš is aiming at the fact that a fully state-owned ČEZ would mean much easier construction of new nuclear units and the entire investment. But the completion is very uncertain at the moment. If only because the Office for the Protection of Economic Competition issued, at the request of the French EDF and the North American Westinghouse, a preliminary measure prohibiting the conclusion of contracts for the construction of a nuclear power source with the winning South Korean KHNP. "We are in a situation where the tender is being bombarded from all sides," comments the editor. "By the end of the year, the government should come up with how it will finance the second block. And we still don't have an approved notification for him. We only have the first one from the European Commission - and it is quite disadvantageous, unsuccessful. It favors renewable resources or supported resources in the network, so it is absolutely disadvantageous for the core," emphasizes Malá. Does Andrej Babiš know anything more? Did he want to put the government in a tight spot with his statement? And how will the crucial economic question be reflected in the upcoming elections? Listen to Hrotcast. X: / echo24cz Facebook: / echo24cz