Speech of the Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek on the Occasion of the Presidential Election on 8th February 2008

Dear senators, dear deputies, dear President Václav Klaus, dear Mr. Švejnar, dear guests,

The presidency commands traditionally extraordinary respect in our country. On the contrary, the Parliament does not command great respect. I am afraid of the fact that past weeks, days and hours showed that it was not a chance. Undignified scramble, media attacks, purpose-aimed argumentation, attempts to restrict and to control free vote of senators and deputies, which accompanied the election of a new president showed that certain forces on our political scene cannot be stopped by anything. In a panic of their own inability to face with fair political means further election of a successful president, in forlorn attempt to replace normal opposition policy by hysteric pseudo-presidential campaign they discredited so serious and responsible matter, which the election of the president undoubtedly was. Competition, effort to change things and promotion of own policy belong to democracy. In this sense, I welcome the fact that Václav Klaus is not the only one candidate. But the price that all of us in this hall are now paying, frustration of the public, further loss of trust in politics and politicians seems too high to me.

We are electing the president for ten and a half million citizens. They have right to dignified and free election, as well as candidates and we, electors, have. I am standing here now to tell you: The candidate of majority of Czech citizens, the candidate of the Civil democratic Part the candidate of number of other deputies and senators and my candidate is Václav Klaus. Plautus said: "If the old word serves to a new purpose, then it is good". And these words are still valid. Five years ago, I recommended our candidate with these words: "Professor Václav Klaus said and wrote so many things that his opinions concerning all details of our public life are familiar to the public. Through his political activities he was always demonstrating that what he meant, he meant seriously. There are only few such transparent, legible and consistent people in our political life. It is not easy to deliver the laudatio for somebody about whom people know everything."

I did not have to change anything in that laudatio today and experience I made with Václav Klaus, the president of this country, does not force me to change anything. Times of his presidency were not always idyllic. World was changing faster than in the past and in our country the situation was the same. The Czech Republic was in the international context active in the political, military and humanitarian point of view. If we take into consideration the fact that our performance is quite good in the international context and that also our standard of living is high, we must realize that Klaus was not standing aside; all that was achieved because of his active and critical participation. And just the Klaus´ positivistic criticism is something what should inspire not to dissuade others. I said the other day:

"In our conditions, Václav Klaus distinguishes himself by highlighted correctness, sense for fair play, respect to given word, to written or oral agreements, including those with his political opponents, respect to everybody's right to different political opinions."

Does anybody want to polemize with that? Then he does not know, and the President has already mentioned it in his speech, that he has already welcome four Prime Ministers at Lány chateau. Our political scene has lived through confusions and turbulences and it was on the verge of a real crisis. As normal men of flesh and blood, also we in the ODS often thought that only our attitudes were the right ones that only our opinions were in the interest of our society. Did not we experience many times feelings of injustice because of non-partisanship and neutrality of the President? Only after some time we came to the conclusion that it had not been only neutrality, but also a detached point of view, horizon, ability to see further and to remain the President of all – even those, who pretended diffidence to lick stamp with his portrait, and naively stick a badge with words "Klaus in not my President" into their lapels.

I referred to the concern of Václav Havel, who had feared that the next president might be a deserving professor of Egyptology, who would be elected in the end just because he/she did not mind anybody. If there is somebody here who correspond to this description, then it is not Václav Klaus. Whom did he annoy? Dwarfs standing on tiptoes, generals after battles, genii of mediocrity, those who confuse the European Union with the definite paradise on the Earth, those who made a political business from the climatic phenomenon, those who prefer that World-European not-protruding, those who prefer parochialism and political prattles to deeds. Because he is a man of strong opinions, which are never an arithmetical mean of momentary modish truths and banalities. His transparency, legibility, and consistency have not their roots in simplicity. He tries to analyse every general truth, he tries to get to know every problem and to find a positivistic, not a weakhearted solution. Such a man is called "a man of ideas". He is a conservative thinker. The verb "conservare" means "to collect" or "to protect". That is why the world of his ideas cannot be removed from those people who have protection of significant values: human rights, civil freedoms, family, social security or nature, in their minds. The important thing is that he has never tried to obstruct the way to the social discussion through his strong and original opinions; he rather agitated and provoked to thinking. Yes, a lot has been written about him in the world, both approving and disapproving. In short, the Czech Republic has an above-standard president, a president who is exclusive in the good sense of the word, a president whose opinions are listened to by the world and opinions which are discussed, at least. There are many insipid opinions, which do not concern or titillate anybody, and which always copy comfortable majority stream, which are sliding on the surface of populism.

I also said that time: "Václav Klaus is deeply rooted in the Czech environment; he has never tried to be a director of the world, but only a Czech politician. The entire performance of his at home or in abroad has its origin in the only one priority; it is the interest of the Czech state. He always assesses personal success according to the success of the Czech Republic. Allow me to use rather an archaic expression. Václav Klaus is what was called "good Czech patriot". It is a quality which will be for the benefit of the President of the Czech Republic in this globalizing world."

And it was. Especially during today's election is the above-mentioned quality highly important. Dwight Eisenhower was true when he said: "I have one yardstick by which I test every major problem – and that yardstick is: Is it good for America?" He was right because he was an American president. The president who is elected by us should assess his performance according to different standard: Is it good for the Czech Republic?

In conclusion, allow me to express my personal declaration: tons and tons of paper have been covered with writing about my disagreements with Václav Klaus. Mostly they were nonsensicalities, myths, sometime they concerned just different opinions, different point of views relating to problem in question. Today, I can declare with clear conscience: after November 1989 I had my concept of patriotism, democracy and freedom connected rather with heroes of my favourite books; the concept was not experienced and it corresponded rather to a form than to content. If somebody influenced my understanding to those basic values, if somebody put content into my dreamt-of form, then it was Václav Klaus. It was him who learnt me such perception of patriotism, which was miles away from nationalism or flag-waving, and which evoked feeling of national pride and solidarity, such a perception of democracy, which did not require resignation to one's opinion, such a perception of freedom which supposed personal responsibility and which did not refuse anybody their right to their piece of truth. I thank Václav Klaus not only for his role in my life, but above all for his the first five years of his presidency; I firmly believe that if he gets a chance for next five years, he will satisfy all of us – as he satisfied me. I am saying that with full knowledge of the fact that I adopted personal political responsibility for his re-election. I do not avoid it; I am not searching trickeries and evasions in advance. I believe that those who do not wish the election of Václav Klaus will act in the same way; those who were not so inspired and learnt how to win by him. Take into consideration, please, the difference between victory and defeat, between certainty and a leap in the dark; take into consideration, please, the fact that we are electing a president for ten and a half million of inhabitants. Vote responsibly and freely.

Thank you.