Prague – Former Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala says he needed some distance to reflect on his party’s loss in parliamentary elections. In the weeks following the October elections last year, Fiala, who stepped down as prime minister in December, took a break with his wife before fully returning to politics as one of 27 members of parliament representing the Civic Democratic Party (ODS).
The interview took place in the top floor of a palace in the Lesser Town district of Prague, a location that serves as the parliamentary club’s base for ODS. The space is steeped in history, both of the buildings themselves and of the party, with books by Václav Klaus – the party’s founder, who later distanced himself from ODS – found in a smaller library.
Fiala’s role within ODS is evolving, and he appears more relaxed than in the past. He arrived for the interview in good spirits, readily posing for photographs for several minutes. When asked by Aktuálně.cz if he felt happier now that he no longer carried the burden of leading the government and the party, he offered a wry smile.
“Not happier. But freer,” he responded. He addressed every question during the interview and expressed a willingness to continue the conversation even after the recording device was turned off, signaling his continued commitment to political life. However, he indicated a reluctance to publicly criticize ODS, despite harboring some reservations.
Many people, including your supporters, are wondering if you fully grasp the extent of your loss in the parliamentary elections and the hard situation facing ODS. Do you think you’re viewing the defeat through rose-colored glasses?
“If I hadn’t been aware of various things, I would have run for the leadership of ODS and continued my work. But I concluded from the overall situation that I would not seek the leadership.”
Fiala cautioned against overstating the defeat, arguing that doing so would be discouraging. “It wasn’t such a disaster,” he said. “If the Motorist Party hadn’t entered parliament, I likely would have been forming the government, not Andrej Babiš.”
You enjoy football, so you know that a loss is a loss, regardless of how the game was played. After losing five consecutive elections, isn’t it time for a more critical assessment?
“It’s not about seeing the situation more critically or optimistically – it’s about seeing it correctly. If you do, you can make the right decisions for the future.”
Drawing another analogy to football, he explained, “If you finish second in the league and lose the title and European competitions, you need to improve the team and play better football. But you shouldn’t act like you’ve been relegated.”
But Andrej Babiš has returned to power, with his ANO party filling positions across the country. And you’ve lost several cities and no longer control any regions…
“I don’t think that’s a completely accurate interpretation. It’s not true that we don’t have a regional governor.”
Fiala acknowledged the party’s challenges but maintained that the situation wasn’t catastrophic. “If the Motorist Party hadn’t entered parliament, I probably would have been forming the government, not Andrej Babiš,” he said.
You like football, so you know that a loss is a loss, regardless of how the game was played. Having lost five consecutive elections, isn’t it time for a more critical gaze at the situation?
“It’s not about seeing the situation more critically or optimistically – it’s about seeing it correctly. If you do, you can make the right decisions for the future.”
He continued the football analogy, stating, “If you finish second in the league and lose the title and European competitions, you need to improve the team and play better football. But you shouldn’t act like you’ve been relegated.”
But Andrej Babiš has returned to power, with his ANO party filling positions across the country. And you’ve lost several cities and effectively don’t control any regions…
“I don’t think that’s a completely accurate interpretation. It’s not true that we don’t have a regional governor.”
Jan Grolich, who ran on your Spolu coalition ticket, leads one region, but he’s a People’s Party (KDU-ČSL) member.
“I’m not disputing that we aren’t as successful as we’d like to be. But we need to recognize that left-wing voters were offered a strong option in the form of ANO, which unified the left-wing political scene and integrated some radical political positions.”
“the democratic camp is divided into many political parties, which was reflected in the election results. And I believe voters expected greater dynamism and cooperation from the center-right camp before the elections.”
Our Opponent Constantly Lied
It seems you’re deflecting from self-reflection on the defeat, and whether you’re accurately assessing what’s happening. I’ll mention ODS Vice-Chairman Karel Haas, who at the ODS congress praised many things but also spoke about how your party lost many entrepreneurs and lost two-thirds of its members. And there was more that he criticized…
“ODS didn’t lose entrepreneurs; we don’t have that data. On the contrary, we are a party that entrepreneurs vote for. But I wouldn’t limit it to just entrepreneurs; ODS is generally voted for by active people.”
“Yes, we certainly need to be better. I constantly ask myself what we could have done differently. But we also need to recognize what we were up against.”
What was that?
“Our opponent constantly lied. They won the elections through deception. That’s something that needs to be said. It’s not resentment; it’s a cold analysis. ANO won the elections through deception. It was successful. They portrayed the country as a wasteland, said things were bad, and claimed we were in a terrible situation compared to other countries.”
“All of it was a lie. Now they’re saying we’re not a heavily indebted country and that we’re prospering. They lied. But we’re not good at lying, and I don’t aim for to be.”
Politicians often accuse each other of lying and deception. Some might argue whether you didn’t engage in similar tactics during the election campaign, painting a bleak picture of what would happen if Babiš won.
“I know you always want to treat everyone the same, but that’s a mistake. Because it’s not the same when someone pursues honest politics and fails to preserve a promise because circumstances changed, and when someone simply lies. They have no intention of keeping their promises and don’t even hide it.”
“You can’t compare these two approaches. I didn’t deceive voters, and it’s right to portray Babiš as a danger. Because he is a danger, and that’s clear.”
Many people feel you didn’t adequately acknowledge the hardships people were facing, such as the rising cost of living during high inflation…
“I was aware of the deteriorating living standards, truly. But I acknowledge the criticism that I may not have adequately conveyed that I understood. I accept that.”
You often label your political opponents as extremists, populists, or even pro-Russian. Wasn’t that another reason more voters chose Babiš?
“When I spoke with many people before the elections, they knew better than many commentators that the real danger was Babiš and ANO. They feared we would drift eastward, toward Slovakia and Hungary. That’s what they were afraid of.”
“And political reality shows that was true. Their fears were justified. And the claims by some commentators that things wouldn’t be so bad with Babiš are proving to be untrue.”
Why do you say that? Many commentators argue that the shift eastward isn’t so pronounced under Babiš.
“Of course, Babiš and ANO learned from their previous term in office. Their role model, Viktor Orbán, showed them how to do it. That’s why they’re trying to exert power, intimidate, pursue a forceful policy, and attack the media. And you journalists are taking it as a given.”
“I call things by their real names and describe what’s really happening and what threatens us. Today, the battle isn’t between right and left, but an existential struggle over whether we’ll have a quality democracy and live in freedom. It’s a battle between democratic parties and parties that are radical and populist. That’s just the way it is, and there’s no point in covering it up. This applies not only to our country but to many others.”
I’d like to return to the beginning of our conversation and whether you adequately reflect on the depth of your election defeat. I was wondering if you would say: Yes, I made these mistakes. This didn’t work out, I underestimated this, or I didn’t assess it correctly, or I simply didn’t have time for it because I had to do a lot of other work…
“I say these things in various ways, but that’s not the most important thing. It won’t help Czech politics if I now explain how I spent the last few years intensely focused on the government and persuading voters and didn’t have time to convince every ODS regional organization that we were taking the right steps.”
“That’s certainly true, but that’s not an interesting message. That’s not my task right now.”
And what is your task?
“To stop the growing power of populists and extremists. And to learn from the fact that we failed to convince voters in the elections that we governed really well, as objective results show. That’s what’s on my mind.”
Still, many people believed you didn’t adequately address their concerns, such as the rising cost of living during high inflation…
“I was aware of the deteriorating living standards, truly. But I acknowledge the criticism that I may not have been able to adequately convey that I understood. I accept that.”
You often label your political opponents with terms like extremists, populists, or even pro-Russian. Wasn’t that another reason more voters chose Babiš?
“When I spoke with many people before the elections, they knew better than many commentators that the real danger was Babiš and ANO. They feared we would drift eastward, toward Slovakia and Hungary. That’s what they were afraid of.”
“And political reality shows that was true. Their fears were justified. And the claims by some commentators that things wouldn’t be so bad with Babiš are proving to be untrue.”
Why do you say that? Many commentators argue that the shift eastward isn’t so pronounced under Babiš.
“Of course, Babiš and ANO learned from their previous term in office. Their role model, Viktor Orbán, showed them how to do it. That’s why they’re trying to exert power, intimidate, pursue a forceful policy, and attack the media. And you journalists are taking it as a given.”
“I call things by their real names and describe what’s really happening and what threatens us. The case highlights the growing polarization of Czech politics.”
For example?
“For example, dismissing a whole range of experts who were somehow connected to the politics of my government. The removal of the highest state official, the complete of the head of the National Sports Agency, halting the appointment of numerous ambassadors.”
“Babiš is trying to exert power over the state, through intimidation, persuasion, and a forceful policy, and attacks on the media. And you’re treating it as normal. I call things by their real names and describe what’s really happening and what threatens us.”
What should a closer cooperation look like?
“I showed that in practice. We were able to create the Spolu coalition and win two elections. We won the 2021 elections and successfully governed the country for four years.”
“Everything has its dynamics in life and in politics. I apologize, but it’s not up to me to outline specific steps. And it would be inappropriate of me, because we have new leadership, and it’s up to them to show the way. Perhaps that path will be the right one.”
Should ODS and TOP 09 merge? Or perhaps even closer cooperation with KDU-ČSL? Or even STAN?
“There needs to be greater cooperation than there is now. Then we need to look at how voters identify themselves and tailor cooperation accordingly. The voters of ODS and TOP 09 are almost identical; they are very close. The voters of KDU-ČSL are a little different.”
That needs to be reflected in the form of cooperation. We were able to create the Spolu coalition, and we were successful in two elections. We won the 2021 elections and successfully governed the country for four years.
One last question. Back at the beginning of our conversation, you discussed the depth of your election defeat. I was wondering if you would say: Yes, I made these mistakes. This didn’t work out, I underestimated this, or I didn’t assess it correctly, or I simply didn’t have time for it because I had to do a lot of other work…
“I say all of that in various ways, but that’s not the most important thing. It won’t help Czech politics if I now explain how I spent the last few years intensely focused on the government and persuading voters and didn’t have time to convince every ODS regional organization that we were taking the right steps.”
“That’s certainly true, but that’s not an interesting message. That’s not my task right now.”
And what is your task?
“To stop the growing power of populists and extremists. And to learn from the fact that we failed to convince voters in the elections that we governed really well, as objective results show. That’s what’s on my heart.”
