PRAGUE - TOP 09 MPs will not vote in favour of a vote of confidence in the government of Andrej Babiš. The coalition government of ANO, SPD and the Motorists is weakening the security of the Czech Republic, has ambiguous positions on Russian aggression and plans to restrict public media.
According to TOP 09, since its inception the Government has not given a clear answer to the basic question of where it wants the Czech Republic to go. For many months, it has been accompanied by scandals, ambiguous positions and statements by constitutional officials that damage the country's international reputation and its security interests.
„We have serious doubts about where this government wants to take the Czech Republic. It is already beset by a number of scandals and we consider the remarks of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies on foreign policy to be harmful,” Matěj Ondřej Havel, chairman of TOP 09, commented at the beginning. „When one of the highest constitutional officials compares the European Union to Nazi Germany and repeats arguments that have long been used by Russian propaganda, it is not just a „different opinion“. Such statements can damage the position of the Czech Republic and our security. That is also why we cannot give this government a vote of confidence and will vote against it,” summarized Matěj Ondřej Havel.
TOP 09 also criticizes the government's statement, which was prepared before the specific names of the ministers were known. The government's programme statement does not even provide a clear plan and concrete answers in key areas, including the judiciary.
„We have fundamental problems with what is written in the government's statement and with what is vaguely and indefinitely worded. It is clear that the document was drafted only a few days before the selection of ministers. It is not a clear itinerary or a management plan for the government, but a set of vague promises. Because of the overall poor quality of the government's declaration, TOP 09 will not support Andrej Babiš's government.“ said 1st Vice-Chair of TOP 09 Jiří Pospíšil.
TOP 09 considers the most serious problem to be the government's foreign policy, which, according to the party, is gradually moving away from the clear pro-Western anchorage of the Czech Republic. In a situation of Russian aggression and increased security risks, the government is acting ambiguously and weakening the trust of its allies.
„The foreign policy of Andrej Babiš's government is moving away from a strong Europe and reliable allies and is moving closer to the governments of Robert Fico and Viktor Orbán, which have long been dismantling European cooperation from within. Instead of a clear anchoring of the Czech Republic in NATO and the European Union, we are seeing silence on Russian aggression, insecurity towards Ukraine and dangerous gamesmanship with authoritarian regimes. Such policies do not protect the Czech Republic - they systematically weaken it.” Marek Ženíšek, vice-chair of TOP 09, warned.
TOP 09 also considers it a serious failure of the governing majority for Tomio Okamura to remain in his position as chair of the Chamber of Deputies. It is unacceptable that one of the highest constitutional positions should be held by a politician who has long been spreading pro-Russian attitudes and questioning the role of the public media. Together with other opposition MPs, the party will attempt to remove the SPD leader from his position as Speaker of the lower house of Parliament.
„In the area of media independence, this government is in the tow of Tomio Okamura and the SPD. The culture minister has promised to guarantee the independence of the public service - we would like that too - but the attacks on them are growing and we don't see any real political resistance yet.” said Jan Jakob, chairman of the TOP 09 parliamentary club. „We do not want the Czech Republic to end up like Slovakia or Hungary. A free media is an insurance policy for democracy and we will fight for this insurance policy.”
TOP 09 emphasizes that the removal of Tomio Okamura from the leadership of the Chamber of Deputies is a necessary step to protect democratic rules and trust in constitutional institutions. The party will not support a government that legitimises extremists, tolerates attacks on free media and resigns itself to defending democracy.
(for) TOP 09/gnews.cz-jav
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