President Václav Klaus waded into the debate over the transport strike at first scheduled for Monday and now planned for this Thursday, recommending the Prague mayor hire thousands of buses to offset its effects and suggesting strikers should be fired. Senate Chairman Milan Štěch (Social Democrats, ČSSD), says comments the head of state’s comments are “beyond the bounds of democracy.” Opposition MP Jiří Dienstbier Jr. (also ČSSD) claims Klaus is just worried birthday guests will arrive late. Meanwhile, debate rages over legality of blocking roads.
Klaus has sparked controversy and accusations of overstepping his presidential jurisdiction with calls for the The Czech President is elected by parliament, not the people, and according to the Constitution the post is apolitical.government and Prague administration to take tough counter measures against the transport strike planned for Thursday.
“I recommend the government to be far, far more resolute. If I were in the place of the government and the Prague mayor, I would try to hire private busses from across the country to substitute the striking buses, and say ‘goodbye’ to those who don’t come [to work],” Klaus said during a visit to the Plzeň region on Monday.
Klaus also suggested the government could use existing laws and statutes to clamp down on strike action: “I would be very glad if they resolved to read the Constitution and laws for [legal] means that would enable action to be taken against this type of strike.”
Moving further right
His comments provoked angry reactions and calls for his resignation from a number of politicians. The Czech President is elected by parliament, not the people, and according to the Czech Constitution the post should be apolitical. This is by no means the first time Klaus has provoked controversy with his political opinions and policy recommendations while serving as head of state.
“The fact that Mr. President’s opinions are evidently becoming more radically right-wing is not good news for the solidarity of our society,” the leader of the opposition center-left ČSSD, Bohuslav Sobotka, said reacting to Klaus’ comments. “This strike is a strike in support of implementing different economic and social interests and is the full protection of the Constitution according to Article 27, Paragraph 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms,” Sobotka said, adding that his party would call for a vote of no confidence in the government if it attempts to introduce legislation to curb rights to take industrial action.
Former ČSSD leader Jiří Paroubek called for the Klaus to resign or be removed from the presidency over his latest political intervention. Milan Štěch, chairman of the Czech Senate, the upper house of parliament, said Klaus’ comments were undemocratic. Unions have scrapped plans to blockade trunk roads and instead will target ‘fat cats’
“If Mr. President compares democracy to a fragile egg, he has unwittingly thrown a stone at it. He doesn’t know what it may cause … I don’t know what intentions he has in politics. To dismiss people and bring in strikebreakers because they are exercising their democratic right is ludicrous,” Štěch told the news server parlamentnilisty.cz.
Klaus previously said that the transport unions are essentially planning to “take hostage” ordinary people. On Monday, the chairman of Association of Independent Unions (ASO), Bohumír Dufek, announced that the unions had revised plans to blockade trunk roads and said that instead they will implement a blockade of “fat cats” — which will presumably mean blocking roads around the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, several ministries and possibly Prague Castle.
Going silly?
A blockade of Prague Castle, the seat of the presidency could particularly irk Klaus as he will celebrate his 70th birthday there on Thursday. Dienstbier of the ČSSD suggested this fact may have prompted Klaus’ hard line proposals. “Maybe the fact that on Thursday he’s celebrating his birthday — and because of the strike no guest will be able to make it on time — provoked him to make such a sharp attack,” Dienstbier told reporters on Monday evening.
Former leader of the rail workers union, Jaromír Dušek, who negotiated with Klaus in 1996 during a rail strike echoed Dienstbier’s sentiment with less diplomatic language.”
“He’s afraid that some hujer [a sycophantic character in a well-known Czech film] won’t bring him a present that Václav is expecting. He’s simply afraid that those hujers who he helped rob the country, won’t be able to make it to the Castle in their cars costing three, four million crowns, to wish him a happy birthday,” Dušek told parlamentnylisty.cz. “Go into retirement. You’re starting to go silly,” he added.
