INMiroslav Macek, one of the founders of the ODS and its long-time vice-chairman, died on Wednesday at the age of 79. At the time of the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1992, he was the Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Government and headed the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. He was known to the public for his strong and often controversial words and actions. He retired from active politics in 2001, in recent years he devoted himself to writing. He was the author of several detective stories or the sequel to the novel Saturnin by Zdeňka Jirotka.
Former president Václav Klaus, who founded the ODS and led it for years, expressed sadness and condolences to the family. Mack, who after his retirement from politics acted as an external adviser to Klaus, was described by the ex-president as a politician who significantly participated in the creation of the poly-footprint authentic right. “I respected Mirko immensely for his clear political thinking, for his ability to clearly formulate his opinions and for his persuasive demeanor, with which he was able to move the people around him,” said the former president. According to him, not only an important and talented person of the Czech poly-track politics, but also an all-round interesting personality has left.
Macek studied dentistry and got involved in politics in November 1989, when he was involved in the Civic Forum, for which he was co-opted into the People’s House of the Federal Assembly in January 1990. In June of the same year, he was then elected a member of the House of Nations. After the dissolution of the Civic Forum, he became one of the founding members of the ODS and repeatedly, albeit with breaks, was its vice-chairman until his resignation in 2001. In the elections of June 1992, he was again elected as a member of the House of Nations of the FS. He became Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Government and was in charge of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Macek was considered a controversial person not only within his own party. Political opponents often reproached him for his business activities, he was especially associated with the ambiguities surrounding the privatization of the Book Wholesale. In September 2001, the media reported that he had received several million dollars in compensation for advising the Austrian Erste Bank on the privatization of Česká spořitelna. Macek rejected accusations of illegal conduct, but after the case was published, he left the leadership of the ODS.
In May 2006, he drew attention to himself by slapping the then Minister of Health, David Rath (ČSSD). The reason was Rath’s statement, which indicated that Macek married for money. According to the court decision, Macek later had to apologize to Rath and pay him 100 thousand crowns.
