According to the opposition, the Czech Republic is unreliable for foreign countries. Nonsense, Fiala said

Both experts and the opposition have criticized the incoherent foreign policy and the suddenly canceled trip of Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) to Nigeria in recent days. However, the prime minister himself and other coalition partners claim that they do not perceive any problems and that we are a stable and respected country for foreign countries.

The canceled trip of the Prime Minister to Nigeria, the statement of Minister Jana Černochová (ODS) about withdrawing from the UN or the participation of ministers in a pro-Israel demonstration. Despite the fact that the communication style of the government representatives is criticized by experts, the opposition and some ex-ministers, the government stands by its actions.

“It seems absurd to me when someone says that our attitudes prevent us from developing relations with other countries. There are no problems with the Czech position and foreign policy. It would be very bad if we imposed such bans on ourselves as going to a demonstration that supports the victims one of the most brutal terrorist attacks,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

“I personally visited Africa this year, and therefore I know that program changes are not unusual in this region. After all, European partners can also tell about it. Czech diplomacy has a unique network of embassies around the world, which gives the opportunity to promote Czech interests in Africa as well,” he said Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (Pirates).

However, the opposition and former ministers consider the government’s communication to be dismal. “This is a huge faux pas and a huge failure of our foreign policy. It has put our prime minister in a very shameful light. Our foreign policy seems very strange and, above all, uncoordinated,” said ANO Vice-President Alena Schillerová.

“The foreign policy of this government is naive, and in the future it will be very difficult to straighten out these broken relations. In any case, I can say that what the government is doing is harming the Czech Republic,” admitted SPD vice-chairman Radim Fiala.

“We may not be a completely legible partner for a number of countries at the moment,” warned former Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (SOCDEM).

But the coalition speaks with one voice. “We have proven that we are a very stable country in terms of foreign policy, that we are highly respected and that we have a position of our own that we can stand behind. We are a very pro-Israeli state and this has some effects on that foreign policy as well,” she declared MP Barbora Urbanová (STAN).

“I understand that sometimes some statements can be the subject of a larger discussion in the media, but I don’t think that it is necessarily wrong. We are a democratic country where no one should be ashamed of their opinions and should not be pilloried for them,” thinks the chairperson of the Parliament of the House of Representatives Markéta Pekarová Adamová (TOP 09).

“Foreign policy should really be more neutral. It should really avoid any harsh statements, because one unfortunate statement can cause such damage that it tramples diplomatic efforts, which diplomats have been working on for several months,” warned political scientist Milan Školník.

jal, TN.cz