In the interest of the Czech Republic
He added that the Czech Republic is helping refugees, especially women and children, to save their lives. I have accepted more than 400,000 Ukrainians, currently about 280,000 of them live here and 120,000 of them work, so they bring finances into the health and social system. “The fact that we support Ukraine in its just war against Russia is in the Czech national interest. Our actions protect the safety of citizens. There is no need to worry that this will be at the expense of the Czech public. Fiala stressed the correctness of the fact that we are helping morally, politically and strategically, which is not even favorable”. He added that in this direction he meets with great support and understanding from the citizens. “Thanks to the solidarity of our people, we were able to handle the massive wave of refugees well,” he said.
Will Peter Fiala send his children to Ukraine? The Prime Minister explained his position on the war
The presenter stated that no more than 25 billion kroner should be allocated to help Ukrainians, which is half the amount originally expected. However, the support of Czech citizens will be several times greater, especially after the approval on Monday of setting gas and electricity prices. However, politicians failed to convince citizens that this was so.
Governments vs. Citizens
Journalist Lída Rakušanová, for example, recalled the open letter of sixteen trade union representatives from Saxony-Anhalt to German Chancellor Schulz, in which she wrote: “The vast majority of society do not want to sacrifice their already established standard of living to Ukraine. It is not our war after all.” . A recent survey by Slovakia, in which the Slovak Academy of Sciences also took part, showed alarming numbers. When asked whether Ukraine or Russia should win the war, thirty percent of people answered that Ukraine should win, but more than half said so. Less than a fifth said they didn’t know.
“Let us not forget that we have been through a period of thirty years of high standards of living and security. Suddenly a war breaks out three hundred kilometers from the Czech border, which makes a lot of people restless. My job is not to respond to public opinion polls, but to do the right thing for the benefit of the citizens. And that To support Ukraine so that Russia cannot continue its aggressive policy towards Europe, the prime minister said, “We did not choose the war, but Vladimir Putin started it, including the economic one, and he is fighting it with the European Union.”
You can watch Peter Fiala’s debate on energy here:
Source: Diary
The war is the result of the weakness of the West
What does Peter Fiala say about his opponents’ statements that the West chose war by not trying to negotiate with Russia and not offering guarantees about Ukraine’s neutrality and non-membership of NATO?
“On the contrary, the war is one of the results of the West’s very weak reaction to the annexation of Crimea, which was a violation of all agreements and guarantees given by Russia.” He noted that Western statesmen had frequent negotiations with Vladimir Putin, even after the start of the war. And the one who does not want to act is the Russian president: “Only if we show that his policy is not working and what we are witnessing now, namely, the withdrawal of Russian troops, can he bring him back to the negotiating table.” The current Ukrainian counterattack is some hope, but according to the prime minister, it is definitely not. Only thanks to their courage and Western military technology can the Ukrainians fight against enormous odds. “I am glad that the Czech Republic is also an important part of their efforts,” he added.
Who goes to the demonstrations?
In the end, the discussion turned again to the topic of mass demonstrations, their organizers and participants. Will the government succeed in explaining to citizens, its voters, and especially non-voters, that their protests are useless because they will get a lot of help from the state? And how will they react to the fact that while the budget for the ministries of transport, regional development, education and culture will be reduced, the defense will receive 110 billion kroner next year?
Fiala promised in the discussion that the price of electricity and the war tax would be fixed within a month
“We explain it. The upcoming elections, in which the opposition wants to hold a referendum on the government, will show a lot. But we will answer mainly in the parliamentary elections in three years. The citizens will decide whether we should continue or not. I repeat that I do what I consider appropriate for the Czech Republic, Even at the expense of not everyone applauding me at every moment.”
According to him, it is the duty of the leader to name things honestly. He did not evaluate the demonstrators in Wenceslas Square but the organizers. “People wrote to me that they went to protest high energy prices, but if they knew who organized it, they wouldn’t go there. They will be careful next time. My job was to warn people that the forces that don’t think well in the Czech Republic had summoned them. That doesn’t mean We are minimizing the concerns of the citizens. That is why the government has taken measures such as capping energy prices and huge aid in the form of an umbrella against high prices.”
In our next ten-minute interview with the Prime Minister, we’ll touch on the question of who will be the presidential candidate of the Spolo Alliance. On Thursdays only at denik.cz.
