Klaus in NY address: EU membership loss of sovereignty for Czechs
The Czech President Vaclav Klaus addressed the nation on Thursday in his first ever New Year's speech as head of state. President Klaus, who was sworn into office last March, choose a somewhat conciliatory tone for his New Year's address. There was the usual ill-concealed aversion to the European Union, but this time it was moderated with some positive words.
"Yes, it did. President Klaus made it known right from the outset that he wanted to be a different sort of president than Mr Havel, more down-to-earth. So for the first time we saw the Czech president giving his New Year's address live, rather than in a pre-recorded message. Also, Mr Klaus chose to stand up for the cameras, whereas his predecessor Vaclav Havel spoke to the nation seated at a desk, which always made him seem rather distant. And finally, for the first time the speech was also broadcast on the country's largest commercial station TV Nova, which is what 'the people' actually watch."
Right, so what were some of the main themes that Mr Klaus touched upon in his first ever address to the nation?
"Chief among them of course was his country's admission to the European Union on May 1st. Mr Klaus has a rather frosty relationship to European integration; he says he has deep concerns about the direction in which Europe is heading. This is playing to the gallery of course: Czechs are far from passionate about the EU, and their president knows it. And this came out in the speech: Mr Klaus said almost nothing would change on May 1st, when the Czech Republic joins the EU, except that his country would lose its formal sovereignty."
But surely the president had some good things to say about EU membership?
"Almost. He tempered his hostility to the EU by saying that membership would be an opportunity for citizens to strengthen their country's freedom and democracy, i.e. by taking part in things such as elections to the European Parliament. In other words to make sure they would play a great a role as possible in deciding about their future, despite the loss of sovereignty. This, he said, was a unique opportunity."
What else did he touch on in his address?
"President Klaus said 2003 was a mostly unremarkable year for the Czech people - which is an odd thing to say when you consider that Czechs voted to join the EU in the country's first ever referendum, and that the Czech Republic was also involved - albeit in a very minor way - in the war in Iraq. Mr Klaus called on politicians to address the real problems facing their people, and he also spoke of his deep unease at the rising public debt - something he said was indebting each and every one of the Czech Republic's 10 million or so people. That will be seen as a clear attack on government policy, and rather at odds with the otherwise conciliatory tone in the speech."
Right, and one last question - what was the reaction to the speech?
"Pretty predictable to be honest. Most politicians - even politicians who oppose him - praised the speech. Those who support EU membership, such as Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, took issue with Mr Klaus's claim that membership would bring about the end of Czech sovereignty, Mr Spidla said this simply wasn't true. And there was also a predictable reaction in the press. The staunchly pro-Klaus Mlada Fronta Dnes gave the address blanket coverage, while Lidove Noviny said the speech lacked passion and relegated any detailed analysis of it to the inside pages."
