Prime Minister’s speech at the national KDU-ČSL party conference, 20 April 2008

Thank you for inviting me to your conference. I apologize that I was not able to follow convention by arriving yesterday. I’m not sure we can say that I am here to provide the grand finale, but unquestionably I will be very open with you. I think of you as friends and partners, and so perhaps you will bear with me. I have come to convey my regards to you. I have also come to tell you a few things. And I have come to ask you a few things. And, in particular, I am here to thank you for electing Václav Klaus. The ODS and KDU-ČSL are the most natural partners on the Czech political scene; they are a dam holding back communism and left-wing populism, and this election only serves to confirm that. No corruption, no Communists. Once again, I thank you for this key support, which I hold in high esteem.

I have come to say hello on a personal level, because I have many friends among you and because it is the right thing to do. I have also come to convey the regards of the Civil Democrats, as you are a coalition partner and it is highly likely, as I have gathered from the discussions here, that you will remain as part of the government even after this conference. And I have come to greet you as someone sincerely interested in ensuring that you leave this conference invigorated and ready to implement our – and your – coalition programme fully.

I am here to tell you that the government of which you are a part is successful. It is certainly much more successful than the media would have people believe and than you yourselves often present it in the media. It adheres to its policy statement. A hundred times more than past governments. And in many respects it accommodates the KDU-ČSL’s election manifesto. Certainly more than your election result, your post-election expectations and power would indicate. And much more than if you were in another coalition.

I have come to ask you whether you are satisfied with this situation. If you are not happy, why is that? What are the reasons? I have come to ask you, in that case, which direction you plan to take in the future. I have come to ask if you are a political party that keeps its pre-election promises. I have come to ask you whether the coalition agreement is as etched in stone for you as it is for me. This is not mere rhetoric. I do not expect an answer today; rather, optimistically I would like to see a response in the form of uniform voting in the Chamber of Deputies as we seek to make progress with the coalition programme.

The government in which you are represented strongly and responsibly is working professionally, according to plan. The KDU-ČSL ministers are fully-fledged members of the government. The KDU-ČSL has never before had a minister holding such a dominant position as Miroslav Kalousek, except perhaps for Josef Lux, and I would like to take this opportunity, here and in front of you all, to thank Minister for Finance Kalousek sincerely. For you, he is a guarantee that your programme will be driven forward, and for me, he is a critical, consistent partner. Cyril Svoboda does a great, meticulous job. Vlasta Parkanová has entered the minefield under fire from the opposition’s big guns. She has my absolute confidence. Václav Jehlička is proof that there are no small tasks, no weak ministries. And ultimately, after all the ups and downs, all the attacks, there is a man who has my unprecedented support, even though it hardly does wonders for my own popularity, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of a ministry coveted by the KDU-ČSL, your chairman Jiří Čunek. Do you have the feeling you have achieved little? Were you expecting more in a stalemate and hopeless situation?

The government has pushed through almost all its policies in Parliament. It does so with the power of coalition votes. Since no one steamrollers anyone else in the cabinet and we always look for a compromise, no matter what the circumstances. I don’t know if there has ever been, or if there will ever be another, prime minister who negotiates with you so properly and decently. I will cite one of many possible examples of comprise. The Act on the Budgetary Determination of Taxes for Municipalities. Although the natural interests of the ODS and the KDU-ČSL diverged in this case, we managed to find a consensus that came close to your policies and thus enabled the law to be passed. The coalition government has adopted numerous elements from the KDU-ČSL’s election manifesto. You have – or logically you should have – good reason to feel satisfied with your role in this government. Let’s take a look at taxes, public finances, health care and your other priorities.

What does the KDU-ČSL’s election manifesto say about personal income tax? It suggests a 20% rate. The government’s policy statement says: we will introduce flat tax of 17-19%. What is the reality? Under the legislation we have approved, in 2010 citizens will start paying a flat 19% tax. The fact that we are now debating how to enhance the situation of low-income and middle-bracket groups simply compounds your success. The KDU-ČSL has kept its promise. The government’s policy statement has been upheld. What did you promise voters about corporate income tax? A cut in the tax rate to 17% in 2010. The policy statement talks about a rate of 17-19%. Realistically, it will be 19%. The KDU-ČSL has kept its promise 99% of the way. The government’s policy statement has been upheld. And what about the compound tax ratio? Your manifesto promised a reduction from 35% to 32%. The government’s policy statement guarantees a drop to a level below 34%. In reality, a cut to 33.5% is projected. The KDU-ČSL has kept its promise as far as possible. The government’s policy statement has been upheld. The lower VAT rate. The KDU-ČSL election manifesto proposes a gradual increase from five to nine per cent. The policy statement says this will be handled at a later date. In actual fact, the rate has already been changed to nine per cent. This means that the KDU-ČSL has fulfilled its pledge in advance. Health care. This is the stuff of staggering myths and populist outbursts. What does the KDU-ČSL’s election manifesto have to say about regulatory charges? ‘We believe that co-participation from the patient is a means of securing co-responsibility for the use of health care. Possible areas of co-participation are charges for visiting the doctor, the establishment of a handling fee for the dispensing of drugs, and a hospitalization charge.’ That is exactly what is in the government’s programme and what is now being implemented. We promised long ago that the whole system would need to be fine-tuned. I don’t understand why the ODS has been left to take the blows for this, a KDU-ČSL priority, that we are implementing together, or why you are now – preposterously – pouring salt on the wounds. I cannot believe that we are witnessing primarily pious emotions here.

Here, again, the government is complying with an election pledge of the KDU-ČSL, and I ask some MPs, and based on his speech yesterday even Chairman Čunek, whether they have read their own election manifesto, since they are now protesting so vehemently against its implementation. Even if you were to make a complete U-turn with your manifesto, you should still – at least this is considered the norm – adhere to the one which got you elected. Or perhaps I am mistaken and this rule no longer applies to everyone. What does the KDU-ČSL’s election manifesto say about the transparent financial management of health insurance companies? ‘Rigorously control the handling of resources invested in the health system (review the financial management of insurance companies, hospitals, etc.).’

The government’s policy statement develops this idea: ‘The health insurance companies will be transformed into a new legal status – public limited companies – with responsibility for and motivation to engage in economical conduct… to ensure the transparency of the accounts, and with additional restrictions laid down by law.’ The government’s programme, then, simply elaborates on what was generally outlined in the KDU-ČSL’s election manifesto anyway and does not contradict it. In any case, if any of you were against the transformation of the health insurance companies into public limited companies, you should have made yourselves known then, not now. Today, we are simply keeping a promise we made with your endorsement. So why do I have to listen to you spouting statements formulated word for word by Rath and Kubek?

We pledged, and in the coalition agreement we all confirmed, a significant degree of assistance for seniors. On 1 January 2009, Czech seniors will enjoy the highest pensions they have had in real terms since November 1989. We are now in a situation where we need – not for them, not for us, but for future generations – to set a system that will guarantee our descendants at least the same as we have. Minister Nečas has drawn up an extensive, unprecedented pro-family package that is in line with our and your programme. There is no area where the KDU-ČSL’s programme has not left its mark. But it would be impolite for a guest’s speech to last longer than the address by the chairman of the party that invited him. So I will rein in my speech and come to a conclusion.

Even so, I must sigh again. The initiator of the law on reconciliation with the churches was me; Minister Jehlička accomplished the task he was set brilliantly and to a high quality. So you can imagine my surprise to find that this key piece of legislation does not enjoy the full support of Jiří Čunek (or at least did not at K9), and he himself does not consider it a priority for the KDU-ČSL. If we are to succeed in righting such wrongs, what better team could there be? Is it perhaps true that there is no will to find a final solution to this hole in post-November developments? I am not here to advise you or criticize you. You are a sovereign party and you make decisions based on your own deliberations. So, to sum up. In my opinion, the KDU-ČSL has reason to be satisfied with its position in the government. It has good reason to feel successful. It has good reason to press for the rigorous implementation of the cabinet’s policy statement. Because in this case it will have something to show voters in the run-up to elections. Only if that is the case. If there are people in this hall today who think something to the contrary, then they must say so. Are there any external reasons that are leading some of you to change your minds? If there are, it would only be polite to spell them out. If there is anyone in this hall who wants to pursue a different path from the coalition agreement and the government’s policy statement, they should stand up and make their own suggestions. They should explain a feasible alternative in the given situation and have the courage to terminate the coalition agreement. This would surely be better than descending into the steady paralysis of non-government that, it must be said, has been witnessed in the administrations before us. This would be better than showing disrespect to partners by raising distractions. I point out that this is not something I want. If the only alternative is demagogy, left-wing populism and elements of autocracy, then I know that is something most of you do not want either.

As Prime Minister, I am responsible for the implementation of the government’s policy statement, in which you have voiced your confidence. We set up the government as a reformist, non-socialist unit advocating change for the future. We cannot veer from that path. The coalition agreement was a painful compromise. In my view, no other fundamental changes are possible. Debate is always possible, dialogue is a must, but we could think up another name for a compromise of a compromise. I want you to hear this. It is fair. The Christian Democrats and the Civil Democrats are regarded as conservatives. That is no term of abuse. It is a matter of honour and tradition. This means that they cling to their opinions, they insist that promises be kept, and that agreements and treaties be observed. I don’t think any more – and by the same token any less – is needed for our partnership to continue successfully according to plan. This will benefit our two parties, our members, our voters, and especially all citizens of this country.