The president of TOP 09, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, is going through a difficult time. Part of the party is dissatisfied with her because of the failed replacement of the minister for science and low preferences. But she herself remains optimistic. “I have good results. We will without a doubt withstand the current situation,” he says in an interview for Aktuálně.cz. “If we collapse from every problem, then we have nothing to do in politics,” he adds.
I hear from some of your fellow party members that the atmosphere in TOP 09 is not good, and they often blame you for it. They say you should have gone into the government. That you should have negotiated with other ministries. That you should have replaced Minister Helena Langšádlová differently. What do you say to that?
All decisions are not made by Pekarová Adamová, but by the presidency and the executive committee of the party. Decisions are made by collective bodies in which individual regions have their representatives.
So you are not mainly responsible?
It’s not at all like I decide everything myself. Whether it was about what positions we will hold in the government or that I will be the third highest constitutional official (president of the Chamber of Deputies – editor’s note), which is a very visible position. Everything was approved by the overwhelming majority of collective bodies. I think that once we decide something, we should be able to stand behind it.
But do you agree that the atmosphere in TOP 09 is not the best?
The situation is not entirely optimal. I feel like sometimes we solve ourselves instead of solving the election. I would prefer that we solve elections and citizens’ problems.
Aren’t you worried that after the European or autumn regional elections, the demand of fellow party members for you to leave the post of chairperson will grow stronger?
Results should speak for a politician. And I have good results. Under my leadership, we doubled the number of deputies. Under the leadership of Mirko Kalouska, we had seven of them, now we have fourteen of them. We are also successful in getting posts in the Senate, we have a vice president, which we have not historically had, and we also have the post of the third highest constitutional officer, as I pointed out. The return to the government was under my leadership, which I consider the greatest success of our party in the last ten years.
But now you are obviously struggling as TOP 09. For example, those two positions in the government. The Minister for Science, Research and Innovation actually has a small office with a few people, the chance to impress the public is slim. And the Ministry of Health is historically one of the most criticized.
The numbers of seats in the government were clear for all five parties. If we honor those numbers, it was absolutely impossible for us to have more seats.
In an interview for Aktuálně.cz, you compared Mr. Kalousk to Miloš Zeman or Václav Klaus because of how hard they attacked their parties after they left them. Aren’t you unnecessarily sharp?
You always say that to me when we talk.
You used to be more diplomatic, maybe you react even more irritable to criticism.
But I’m not the one who stirs up arguments. I’m the one who reacts last. Don’t confuse cause and effect.
Wouldn’t it be better for you to make peace with Mr. Kalousko? Aren’t you weakening your position in TOP 09 even more?
It was important to me to agree with him. We offered him candidacy for the Senate, we wanted him to help TOP 09 get a Senate mandate. I don’t know what more we could offer him.
Regarding the failed replacement of Minister Helena Langšádlová, would you not admit your wrongdoing? Shouldn’t you have first carefully selected her successor and only then announced the change?
Do you think that we should have taken both steps in one day – dismiss the minister and immediately announce the name of the successor?
I’m just wondering if you couldn’t have done it better.
I don’t think I have told anyone yet, but I can assure you that at the time of the minister’s departure, we had already agreed that Mr. Tuleja would aspire to her position.
As a result, you are criticized by the public, experts, media and fellow party members.
We, as TOP 09, perceived the criticism leveled at Fial’s government, that it communicates poorly. And we have evaluated this public feedback in such a way that we will change our minister. And when we set an example for the others, we are vilified for reacting to people’s opinions. Rather, it should be to our credit that we not only perceive this feedback, but also react to it.
So you are not worried about your place at the head of the party?
Five months ago, I was re-elected as chairperson with 80 percent of support. So I’m really convinced that both this election result and the results I told you about speak for me. Besides, we have done a lot of good as a government. I am convinced that we will without a doubt withstand the current, not entirely simple, situation.
