Like every Thursday, TV Barrandov was broadcast with an interview with President Miloš Zeman. Moderator Jaromír Soukup opened a discussion with him on the weekly program with a series of topical and delicate topics not only moving Czech society. Josef Baxa, the former chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS), a security threat in the form of China and Russia, scandals of Czech politicians, and Zeman’s successes and failures.
According to the research, Zuzana Čaputová, a lawyer, is the favorite in the presidential election. The President said he knew the presidential candidate and the European Commission Vice-President Šefčovič well. “I have known Mr. Šefčovič for a long time and his experience with energy is excellent. I don’t know Čaput at all, ”he said. He also commented on another presidential candidate, Judge of the Constitutional Court, Štefan Harabin. “He’s a prominent lawyer and a former Justice Minister,” he said.
Then the moderator complained about what matters the Chamber of Deputies is now dealing with, instead of dealing with important things, that they are only dealing with themselves. He mentioned the inappropriate musical performance of the current chairman Radek Vondráček (YES) with the guitar in the main hall of the House. SPD MEP Miloslav Rozner’s statements on the “pseudo-concentraion” in Lety or the words of Vaclav Klaus Jr. (ODS) at a lectern.
But the President cannot agree with that. “It’s not true. A number of laws are being discussed on committees and in plenary. These three things are just media foam. Journalists who fail to understand the laws because they are complicated for them can only understand that someone is singing with the guitar and that they are talking about the concentration camp, ”Zeman’s work of the Chamber of Deputies began.
The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Jana Malá (ČSSD), who announced last week that pension reform is unnecessary, has also reached the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs. “Maláčová probably thinks that we can do with a running system that can be adjusted, but that is the moment when the economy is working,” said the president, adding that if the opposite trend and the level of old-age pensions would be reduced, there will be a storm not only in the House, but throughout society.
Subsequently, Soukup mentioned that people are still forced by politicians to understand something, be it the technological processes at D1, the processes of complexity in land purchase, or to understand spoiled Polish meat. “It seems to me that you are very patient and have great sympathy with them,” he added. “I have never been very patient,” Zeman said, focusing on the D1 highway. “Here, for example, I told Minister Tok to fire the Chief Road and Motorway Directorate, but I don’t even know if he did,” the President said, thinking he might not. “Maybe it will happen once,” he said.
He got an evaluation of Zeman’s six-year career in his presidency. He revealed what he is most proud of. “I am proud to have moved a little with economic cooperation with both China and Russia. In these countries, personal contact and chemistry are important as in America. I am proud to have a relationship with both the Chinese and the Russians, “he said, referring to going to China in a month.
“But it is not about being proud of personal relationships, but for economic cooperation to develop equally on both sides. I am proud of the hysterical campaign that leads to the Cold War, either anti-Russian or anti-Chinese, ”he said, adding that it is in the Czech Republic’s interest not to isolate itself from any major country. He said that Western statesmen routinely travel to China and Russia and trade there.
He also pointed out what he failed. He mentioned the move of the Czech Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “I come across the fear of the Arab countries that wouldn’t like it. In the meantime, Orbán recently gave diplomatic status to his Jerusalem dealership and there were no major Arab protests, ”he said. “I have also rarely been able to explain the campaign that our secret service is doing to do a lot of advertising,” he said, saying that the secret services are mostly poorly capable.
As a third point, he mentioned that he was unable to defend himself against all sorts of gossip, such as from Judge Baxa. “Baxa claimed that I promised him the post of President of the Constitutional Court. If everyone were thinking and counting, he would know that Pavel Rychetsky, the current President of the Constitutional Court, ends in June 2023, and I end in March 2023, “he said clearly, and even if he wanted to do so he couldn’t do that. “Nobody noticed, just silly repeating that stupidity,” he added.
And what mistake did the president make? He mentioned his vulgarisms. “Occasionally, once every four years, I miss a vulgar expression literally, but only once in four years. It was once when I translated the name of a punk band. And then when I wanted to characterize two strange entrepreneurs, Leather and Bakala. So at the end of these four years I will tell the audience some nice vulgarism again, ”the president promised. In doing so, he warned that he would utter a dirty word and once again spoke the name of the Pussy Riot group.
In addition, he also regretted that so far, what they did with Babiš has failed, that the bill on direct election of mayors, mayors and governors will be enforced. “The law is not in the world, and that is a mistake, and it is because in 1993, Havel’s right of legislative initiative gathered, otherwise I would have tabled this law and did not have to wait and seek parliamentary support,” Zeman sighed.
The question of when Zeman felt most in need of his function fell on the table. Apparently, when there was political instability. “There was one demonstration after another, the president was a kind of insurance and was supposed to help bridge this instability, appoint the prime minister, the government and so on, I invited the chairmen of the parliamentary parties and dealt with the situation,” he said.
And finally he recalled the appointment of the clerical government of Jiří Rusnok. “This has contributed to the end of the very unpopular government. It was the Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, ”Zeman concluded, adding that he attributes it as his undisputed success.