“Today, on the way to Debate without censorship, I recorded a video in the car, unfortunately without a belt. Sorry, it was a mistake. I am of course prepared to pay the corresponding fine for it. And please be more careful than me. Belts save lives,” Vít Rakušan, an Austrian, complained on the social network after the opposition drew attention to his video as well. about the trip to Vyškov.
You broke the law, they scolded him in ANO
In the video, the Austrian attacked the head of ANO, Andrej Babiš. “This is Mr. Babiš, he doesn’t like facts, so he spreads lies and delusions. Don’t eat it, the talk is really contaminated. Ukrainian agricultural products are under the same strict control as any other,” said the Austrian in the video.
However, they got in touch directly from ANO. “Mr. Minister, you know Austrians – you have just publicly broken the law. According to section 9, paragraph 1 of Act 361/2000 Coll., on road traffic, you are: obliged to wear a seat belt!I ask, what consequences do you draw as a minister of the interior and a public figure from this violation of the law?’ ANO shadow transport minister Martin Kolovratník said.
This was not the first trouble during the debates
During his travels, the Austrian impressed, among other things, that during the debate in Sokolov, he spoke about buying back ČEZ shares, causing quite a stir – and subsequently apologized for his statement.
The Austrian pointed out at the January debate that the purchase of ČEZ is not an entirely simple transaction. “But this government is talking about it, it is being prepared, there are minority shareholders, of course they have to be paid somehowI hope, and I think so in the long term, that our government will still be able to do it,” said the Austrian.
“During the debate with the citizens in Sokolov, I said that our government is planning a 100% takeover of the energy company ČEZ. The government considered buying out the production parts of the company at a time of extremely high energy prices. There are no such steps underway at this time. In the heat of the debate, I gave the wrong information and I apologize for that,” the Deputy Prime Minister responded after the debate in Sokolov.
A parade of conspiracies and calls for resignation
The Vyškov debate began with an extensive display of a number of conspiracy theories, which were presented by the well-known conspirator Jana Peterková with her colleagues. At the same time, the Austrian asked when he would resign, while repeating the obviously fabricated accusations to him over and over. “I intend to properly complete my ministerial mandate. Then the citizens can decide, as is usually the case in a democratic country,” said the minister calmly.
Another strange theory came from a man sitting right next to Peterková, who asked the Austrian about the activities of the Aspen Institute, whose conference the Austrian was supposed to attend in the past. There was talk of making weapons using DNA or influencing elections around the world through a mysterious device from the Hewlett-Packard company.
At that moment, it was already obvious that the Austrian was getting fed up with similar fabrications, also for the reason that no one from Vyškov considered them to be bullshit, but rather a group of the minister’s opponents, who probably weighed a relatively long way to the debate.
“I would stop your paranoid view of things. Just because someone speaks at a society’s conference doesn’t mean they’re part of a secret society, which has a Hewlett-Packard device that influences elections in various countries. I suspect that cross-worlders have arrived who are interested in other things than the people in this hall. It’s cute to listen to, but I’d say people probably have more interesting questions. I can promise that I am not remotely controlled by the Aspen Institute,” he said to a group spreading wild conspiracy theories.
Vote at 16? According to the Austrian, a good way
The first question from a resident of Vyškov concerned the introduction of the possibility to vote from the age of 16. “I think that, like in Austria, where they started municipal elections from 16, it brought an increased interest of young people in politics and an increased interest in running after 18, I think that would be a good way to go,” replied the Austrian. However, he added that despite the current parliament and its composition, the given proposal would certainly not pass. However, he himself would also like to lower the age limit required for candidacy for the Chamber of Deputies from the current 21 to 18.
He also commented on the age limit of 40, which must be reached to be a candidate for the Senate or for the presidency. According to him, this is not a guarantee of acquiring greater life wisdom.
Acceptance of the euro and prostate examination
During the debate, the Austrian also commented on the possible adoption of the euro. “I and my movement think that the path to the introduction of the euro should be opened. It would be advantageous and beneficial for the Czech Republic and its citizens in the long term,” he said.
To add to the strangeness, influencer and humorist Jan Špaček also asked the question. Among other things, he thanked for the space provided to young people. However, he subsequently asked the minister when he last had a prostate examination.
As part of education, he also appealed to people to go for examinations regularly. “Given the way my traffic was before the debate started, I shouldn’t be putting it off,” answered the Austrian shortly to the question.
Furthermore, the Austrian again had to answer questions about the war in Ukraine and explain that Russia is the real aggressor. He spoke, for example, about the necessity of mastering the verification of information in Czech schools.
