Fico, though, wasn't speaking just for people in his own country. Rather, he was giving voice to those across Central and Eastern Europe who have long wondered why Nutella doesn't taste as chocolatey at home as it does in Germany, for example, or why the cola isn't as full-bodied and the washing powder doesn't work as well.

He was speaking for 103 million EU citizens who for years have been forced to make due with second-rate versions of brand-name products. Not only that, but questionable studies have even claimed to show that Eastern European consumers prefer the mediocre goods to the real thing. The Polish newspaper Gazeta Prawna has referred to the phenomenon as "grocery racism."

Devac goobster