Speech of the Prime Minister of the CR, Mirek Topolánek on the occasion of the Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 Award on February 21st, 2007

Ladies and gentlemen,
I am not going to speak long. It is a forum in fact, which is rather for celebrations, not for debates. I leave long speeches for conferences and meetings of entrepreneurs. And you know well that I do not avoid debates with entrepreneurs, definitely.

Every time when I speak to entrepreneurs I have a feeling that I am among my neighbours; and not only a feeling. In spite of the fact that I have not been working in a business sphere for nearly ten years, I still remember well that it was hard work. I still remember that the state or a government may make entrepreneurship unpleasant by many ways. Not only by what they do, but also by what they do not do. Especially, if there is no order in law, in operation of bureaucracy and courts.

I do not want to say that the law will come with me. It would be rather presumptuous statement with regard to the fact that it is the Parliament, not the government, which makes the final decision in the course of law adoption and that judgements are delivered by judges. But what I can say is that a will to change the existing state, when the Czech Republic lags regarding corruption and unnecessary bureaucracy in the European Union, comes with me. You are doing your business. You are doing it well; otherwise you would not be sitting in this hall. My business is to create conditions for your business. The government that I head operates for less than two months. But I can assure you that not a week goes by without adoption a new reform, a new measure, which will help economy and entrepreneurship.

I do not say that we are preparing a legislative windstorm. A windstorm is a devastative element and it is proved that it is valid for windstorm of laws, as well. We prefer everyday work. We prefer gradual but continuous solution of problems. We know where we want to go and we are preparing tools and time schedule of steps, which will lead to the aim or to the aims. But, what am I saying here? It is a common managerial method to programme aims and objectives. A new matter is that we implement it to the work of the government.

Therefore, with a bit of exaggeration I can say that I expect that you will award me as the entrepreneur of the year after some three years, in spite of the fact that you would have to grant me an exception as I do not meet a requirement to posses at least 20% of shares of a firm that I manage.

But joking apart: I am glad that this competition exists, that a competition exists, in which entrepreneurs can compete according to the same criteria as they are in other western countries. We want to be a standard country, in entrepreneurship, in public administration, so that an entrepreneurial, if he was not just looking at the Prague castle, would not find out whether he makes business in New York, Amsterdam or in our capital.

And so, you are helping to create a standard. I do not say that it is not important to win. If you would not like to win, you would not become entrepreneurs. But what are more important are criteria - a single standard that uses the same yardstick without an exception, particularities and special regards. It is a basis of successful entrepreneurship and also of good policy.

As an American entrepreneur John Davison Rockefeller said: Friendship based on business is much better than business based on friendship. And Topolánek adds to it: policy based on business support is much better that business based on policy.
Thank you for your attention.