President Pavel: Our next government must guarantee a secure and free Czechia

In his New Year’s address to the nation, Czech President Petr Pavel urged Czechs to have confidence in the future and not to be swayed by scaremongering and populism ahead of the 2025 general elections.

The president began his New Year’s address by expressing solidarity with those who feel exhausted by fear of the ongoing war in Ukraine, their own unfulfilled expectations and worries about the rising cost of living.

"I feel compelled to share with you my conviction that the real state of our country is not nearly as bad as we sometimes think, based on the negative sentiments spread by populists, who resort to marketing slogans and offer simple solutions” the president said, warning that the spread of fear contributes to people's inability to talk to each other, listen to each other and think about each other's arguments.

The president pointed out that even the desire to live in peace had been abused by populists and now threatened to divide the nation. He said that, as a soldier, he was very aware of the value of peace and its price and urged people to look beyond the simple solutions offered and think about the consequences.

Above all the head of state stressed the importance of the upcoming general elections which would decide on the future course of the Czech Republic. He warned that in the months leading up to the elections, facts and arguments would doubtless be countered by slogans and distortions of the truth.

"I wish that each of us would realise how much weight his or her vote will have in the elections. I wish we could look beneath labels such as liberal, national or conservative, because far more important are the real political solutions and decisions offered," the president said.

The president said he considers it essential that the government that emerges from this year's parliamentary elections will be able to guarantee that the Czech Republic will continue to be a safe, free, and law-abiding country with a fair environment for life and business.

He said he was aware of the fact that in the present day and age people want decisive politicians, but he pointed out that such politicians can be dangerous if their decisiveness is not complemented by democratic values, decency and reason. Mr. Pavel warned Czechs against opening the door to authoritarianism and emphasized the need to defend and nurture freedom and democracy.

In his speech, the president also highlighted the need to reduce inequality in living conditions across the country as one of the big challenges facing the government and promised that he personally would do his best to raise topics that have the potential to change the lives of people in the Czech Republic for the better.

As in former speeches, the head of state expressed the view that it would benefit the Czech Republic to adopt the euro, a step that the government has so far resisted.