Prague, Aug 15 (CTK) – Civic Democrat (ODS) chairman Petr Fiala criticises ODS MP Vaclav Klaus Jr. for supporting the candidacy of Ladislav Jakl, former close aide to his father, ex-president Vaclav Klaus, to the Senate for the anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) writes today.
Klaus Jr expressed support for Jakl, who headed the political section of the Presidential Office during Klaus’s presidency (2003-2013), though the ODS had fielded its own candidate, actor Vladimir Kratina, in the same Senate ward in Prague 2.
“He would definitely be an incorruptible, free-thinking and right-wing senator,” Klaus Jr. wrote about Jakl.
Fiala usually does not react to Klaus Jr’s statements, but this time, he expressed his disagreement, conveyed by the ODS spokeswoman.
“Vaclav Klaus Jr.’s support of the ODS’s rival candidate for senator is not in harmony with the party’s stance,” Fiala said.
Moreover, Klaus Jr backed up Jakl’s candidacy for the anti-immigration populist movement of Tomio Okamura shortly after he made his fellow party members annoyed by his challenging the Czech participation in the military mission in Afghanistan where a suicide bomber killed three Czech soldiers recently.
The ODS is one of the major supporters of the Czech troops’ deployment in Afghanistan.
“Czech soldiers can be fighting and dying in other countries with the consent of the government and parliament. However, this should have some clear reason and goal. I am sorry, I cannot see them in Afghanistan,” Klaus wrote on Monday.
ODS military expert Jana Cernochova stood up against his words resolutely, but she did not make him change his view.
“I do not have a feeling that I have done anything wrong,” Klaus Jr. told HN, in reaction to a question about his comment on the Afghan mission
Klaus Jr. has a quite firm position in the ODS thanks to his strong voter support. He received 22,600 preferential votes in the last October general election.
However, now it seems that he went too far. ODS deputy chairman Martin Kupka announced that the party would deal with Vaclav Klaus, junior’s opinions, HN writes.