The leaders of the coalition parties supported Prime Minister Petr Fiala at the ODS congress in Ostrava, who defends the position of party chairman. They defined themselves against the populism they see in the YES movement.
They mentioned the challenges that the government faced at its inception and coped with them. According to them, after managing the wave of migration from Ukraine, the energy crisis or inflation, it is necessary to think about the future. For example, the pension reform is yet to receive a key decision, said the leader of the People’s Party and the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Marian Jurečka.
Like others, in his speech he spoke out against the former prime minister, now the head of the opposition ANO, Andrej Babiš.
Jurečka: Babiš is not concerned with pensioners, but with votes
According to Jurečka, Babiš is not interested in pensioners or children, he is only interested in votes. “The pension reform of the YES movement is a pension reform like the world has never seen,” Jurečka said.
Jurečka, first vice-chairman of TOP 09 Vlastimil Válek and the chairman of the Pirates, Ivan Bartoš they mentioned the sound that they think Fiala got for the Czech Republic abroad. According to Jurečka, Fial’s work ensured that the Czech Republic gained respect. “Maybe he had a number, maybe he called, but he couldn’t arrange anything with them,” compared Jureček Fiala with his predecessor as prime minister Babiš.
The rising preferences of populists sometimes lead to succumbing to skepticism, the Austrian said. “We often hear Andrej Babiš talking about ordinary people, we often hear Andrej Babiš and similar people say: Our people want,” said the Austrian.
“Andrej Babiš imagines them as obedient sheep who will be willing to do anything for that increased dose, here for some super-popular step, and above all to give him votes in the election race,” he said, adding that he envisions “our people” as active, who want to make their own decisions about their lives and not be dragged along by the state, who don’t want to be forced into what they should and shouldn’t do.
“The bulwark against populism (..) is something that unites us,” said the Austrian. “There are no other alternatives than the fact that we will cooperate even after the next parliamentary elections. That cooperation has proven itself,” added the Austrian. Even the head of the Pirates, Ivan Bartoš, called Babiš a populist.
War: The populist who devastated the country
“Populist promises that tomorrow we will command the wind to rain are far better for governance than hard work and trying to improve the future of our country, improve the future of its economy. But I think voters are starting to appreciate that. I am fundamentally convinced that we will be able to win the next elections to the Chamber of Deputies, even though the preferences look as they do and are a warning to us. Our solutions work, they are long-term solutions,” said Vlastimil Válek.
He called falling into self-pity and self-loathing as the way to hell. “We started to treat the economy and the situation in the Czech Republic, we started to treat it after the populist devastated it. So let’s continue it, let’s continue it together, let’s continue it together, let’s continue it in this government,” he added.
