International Leaders: Czech Republic

A difficult task has been to determine who should be considered the Czech Republic’s (CR) leader: President Václav Klaus or Prime Minister (PM) Jiří Paroubek. The Czech constitution states that the president is indirectly elected by the parliament (not directly by the people) every five years. Some of the president’s powers include nominating Constitutional Court judges, dissolving parliament, complete immunity, and veto powers on legislation. Also, the president appoints the prime minister “who sets the agenda for most foreign and domestic policy, as well the other members of the cabinet on a proposal by the prime minister.”

Still, the presidency is considered by some to be more of a ceremonial position. For example Klaus, after loosing two elections, announced his intention to “resign from the leadership and run for president” and this was taken by many as a “graceful way of retiring”.

It seems like the Presidency in the Czech Republic is somewhere in between the ceremonial position of, say, Israel’s president, and the traditional (yet much admired and respected) position of the king of Thailand. Thus, for the purposed of this discussion, Prime Minister Paroubek is referred to as the country’s leader. This would surely infuriate Klaus, as the two do not seem to get along. For example, Klaus vetoed Paroubek;s decision to give same-sex couples registered partnership status, as well as his nomination of David Rath for the position of Health Minister.

Regarding political and economic stability the CR is perhaps the most advanced of the former communist nations. The country won its independence following the 1989 Velvet Revolution, a peaceful demonstration from November 16th through December 29th of about half of a million people for the end of the communist rule. Since then the CR has become a member of NATO and, more recently, the EU community. Though it still faces banking, energy, and telecommunications privatization issues, the CR is known as one of the fastest advancing countries of the former Soviet Republic influence, as is evident from a per capita GDP of almost $20,000. Further, the CR is ranked 31st (of 177 countries) on the HDI with an index of about 0.9. It also ranks 33rd (of 155 countries) on the Index of Economic Freedom (above countries such as Belgium and Japan) – an index which measures fifty variables such as corruption and trade barriers. Finally, Reporters Without Borders, a world-wide press freedom index, ranks the CR 9th (of 167 countries); the US ranks 44th.

Paroubek joined the Czechoslovak Socialist Party at the young age of 18 (1970) and was soon recruited to the state secret police, where he served until 1982. In 1989, after the Revolution, Paroubek joined the Czech Social Democratic Party and was given a top post. In the following years, Paroubek proved unsuccessful in political attainment. In fact, in the 2000 Senate elections, he received fewer votes than the communist party’s candidate. In 2004 Paroubek was named minister of regional development under Stanislav Gross (the former PM) and, after a finance scandal by Gross, succeeded him as the CR’s PM (April 25th, 2005).

During the first part of his tenure, Paroubek was highly popular. He was considered highly pragmatic and a good communicator in relation to past Prime Ministers. His popularity, it seems, peaked in August of 2005, before the CzechTek incident (below).

Overall, it seems Paroubek (nicknamed the “Political Bulldozer”) is unfit to be PM of the CR. In terms of his economic policies, the strengthening Czech currency is having adverse effects on exporters (and the entire economy) and the auto production industry (the vast majority of which is exported). Instead of taking steps to weaken the currency at the Czech National Bank, Paroubek has told exporters to “deal with it”. He has also written an article in which he defends himself and the Czech police after the killing of youth involved in a rave party (or, CzechTek). Since the CzechTek incident, he has been mocked by cartoonists, who have cynically said, “If Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek loses in June's general election, cartoonists across the country — regardless of their political affiliation — will weep… He's always saying ridiculous things and getting caught up in scandals. He claims that “techno fans are not dancing children, but dangerous people.” To him, these parties are not for dancing, but are intended to disrupt the “peaceful society”. Further, he is said to be outspoken against unfavorable criticism from opinion polls.

In 2006, floods caused major damage in the CR and throughout Central Europe. President Klaus, along with the media, claimed that Paroubek used this disaster to gain popularity before the June elections. It seems this plan did not work.