Prague, Feb 11 (CTK) – The Czech right-wing opposition has no positive programme of its own and it prefers torpedoing every step the cabinet may take, Lukas Jelinek wrote in Pravo on Thursday in reaction to the opposition’s loud indignation at a recent leak of secret data and the passing of the sales registration bill.
The efforts by the opposition Civic Democrats (ODS) and TOP 09 to thwart the plans of the centre-left coalition government have been unsuccessful so far, however. The two parties’ popularity keeps unusually low halfway through the government’s term, Jelinek writes.
Now that the the ODS and TOP 09’s plan to block the government’s bill on electronic registration of sales (EET) by obstructions in parliament has failed, the opposition labels the government as authoritarian and restrictive towards it, Jelinek writes.
In addition, the opposition accuses the government of having allowed a leak of secret information, of poking its nose in people’s businesses and making people’s life difficult as a result of its controversial decisions, Jelinek writes.
The battle over the EET bill in the Chamber of Deputies was conducted dishonestly by both sides to the dispute, he continues, alluding to the government’s decision to terminate the Chamber’s EET debate and have the EET passed in spite of the opposition’s protests on Wednesday.
The proceedings, which the government coalition cut short authoritatively in the Chamber of Deputies, were no serious debate, but a foolish blockade of the legislative process, Jelinek writes.
He admits that the government violated the lower house’s order of procedure by terminating the debate. However, only the Constitutional Court (US), to which the ODS wants to turn, will decide whether the constitution was breached as well, Jelinek writes.
The ODS and TOP 09 say the EET, initiated by Finance Minister Andrej Babis (ANO), enables an arrogant collection of data on the business deals of small tradespeople and the self-employed. Babis, himself a businessman and billionaire, wants to drive them into bankruptcy, the opposition asserts, Jelinek writes.
It warns people that EET will enable Babis to monitor the volume of drinks people consume in pubs. The warnings should incite people’s mistrust of Babis as the embodiment of the aggressive “Big Brother,” Jelinek writes.
The ODS and TOP 09 complain that the government takes a tough approach to them and all ordinary people, while it is incapable of coping with terrorists and even with intelligence agents, Jelinek writes.
One must never negotiate with terrorists, claims the opposition, which held the Chamber of Deputies hostage over the EET until Wednesday, Jelinek writes with irony.
According to the opposition, it has turned out that the Czech government does negotiate with terrorists, it even pays ransom to them, and on top of it, Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky (ANO) is unable to keep this in secrecy, Jelinek writes, referring to the recent return of five Czechs who were kidnapped in Lebanon in mid-2015, Jelinek writes.
However, the things may have occurred otherwise. The negotiations may have been held exclusively between official bodies – Czech diplomats may have negotiated with Lebanese diplomats and Czech intelligence agents with their Lebanese counterparts. This is a usual behind-the-scenes method that enables governments to defend the interests of their kidnapped citizens without humiliating themselves before gangsters, Jelinek writes.
True, Stropnicky has failed to hold his tongue. However, this is not so serious to necessitate his sacking as minister, which the ODS demands, Jelinek writes.
The ODS has also blown out of proportion the alleged leaks of information from the National Security Council (BRS). The gossips about Prague’s deals with the Lebanese and the ransom Prague paid for two Czechs kidnapped in Pakistan might also have leaked from secret services, Jelinek writes.
The Czech secret services really pose a problem, but this problem has lasted for 16 years at least. In 1998, a former minister planned an audit of the intelligence services that was to result in their effective coordination by a special committee. However, neither he nor any of his successors achieved the goal, irrespective of whether they belonged to the parties of the current government or opposition, Jelinek writes.
Nervousness, mistrust and chaos are the weapons of the opposition ODS and TOP 09, he continues.
The two parties seem to follow the Czech proverb “A hundred times nothing killed the donkey.” In spite of this, Bohuslav Sobotka’s (CSSD) government seems to be enough viable to resist the pressure, Jelinek adds.
