So much for Schadenfreude ..
The past week or so most people I encounter here have been somewhat blase about the financial crisis. In a few I've even detected signs of 'schadenfreude,' which is German for feeling pleasure in the pain, suffering or misfortune of others.
In some ways, I suppose it's natural. As a friend of mine in California used to say, albeit facetiously, 'If you can't laugh at the misfortunes of others, what can you laugh at?'
But that reaction is gradually and suddenly giving way to concern. Today European markets joined in Wall Street's woes. Markets over here were down some 5 percent. Last week, Czech banks were reporting that they were 'unfazed' by the U.S. crisis. But today, markets here are also down, recording heavy losses. The Czech daily Hospodarsky noviny has concluded, 'Times of Easy Credit are Over.'
Meanwhile, former Czech President Vaclav Havel, hero of the 1989 Velvet Revolution, has called the global financial crisis a 'warning.'
Havel, who helped end 40 years of Communist rule here and led the country through its transition to a market economy, told the AP that the crisis should remind people not to abandon basic human values in the struggle to prosper, and that unrestrained materialism is not what freedom and democracy are supposed to be about. Finally, Havel is reported as saying the global financial meltdown proves the world shouldn't put it's trust 'in the pride of economists who think they understand everything.'
I can't help but wonder if this last bit, about 'the pride of economists,' is a small dig at current Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who was prime minister in the Havel Administration. Klaus is an economist, and his far-right views -- for instance, he maintains that global warming is a 'myth' -- have often been at odds with the former president.
But that's speculation. Klaus has not been quoted in the media on the current crisis. Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, who this week was given an award by the magazine Emerging Markets, has been reported as saying he's confident the Czech Republic will weather the storm.