Current Affairs Czech president labels himself an EU dissident
The Czech president Václav Klaus is no stranger to controversy. A long-time opponent of EU integration, the president has signalled his opposition to many of the pillars that make up this organization – from the euro to the hotly debated Lisbon Treaty. On Monday, during a visit to Ireland, the rhetoric was upped a notch, with the president openly labelling himself as an “EU dissident.” But the comparison to the 1989 anti-communist dissident movement is likely to strike a chord with many.
Václav Klaus, photo: CTK
“I know that my predecessor Václav Havel also liked to meet with
dissidents from various countries, so I am now meeting with a dissident of
the European Union and I count myself to also be one of these people.”
That was the Czech president Václav Klaus talking to reporters in Dublin, Ireland where the head of state is on a three day official visit. The comments described Mr Klaus’s sentiments regarding not only himself but Irish opponents of the Lisbon treaty, the long-stalled agreement designed to further integrate the EU. Among such so-called “dissidents” is one Declan Ganley, the British-born head of a US defence contractor who also serves as the chairman of Libertas, an anti-Lisbon treaty advocacy group credited in part with the defeat in June 2008 of a nationwide referendum on whether to adopt the treaty. Mr Ganley currently resides in Ireland, and the two men are set to meet privately on Tuesday.
Czech President Václav Klaus with the Irish Presidnet Mary McAleese, photo: CTK
The meeting, which the President’s office strenuously points out is a
private unofficial affair, has nonetheless irked the Irish government,
which remains keen to continue to foster EU integration, despite the
results of the recent referendum. The impending Czech presidency of the EU
has also complicated matters, with critics increasingly viewing Mr Klaus as
a renegade figure pursuing his and not the government’s agenda. The
official position of the Czech government is directly opposite from Mr
Klaus’s – and although the Lisbon treaty has yet to be ratified by the
country’s Parliament, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has assured EU
leaders that ratification would take place during the country’s EU
presidency early next year. Nonetheless, the president has continued to
walk a tightrope between representing state and conducting private business
and his views are no secret from anyone.
Yet, perhaps far more biting is Mr Klaus’s use of the word
“dissident” and the comparison to former President Václav Havel – a
dissident under the former communist regime. This self-description is in
keeping with the Czech president’s carefully cultivated image as a
crusader against supra-national bureaucracies, socialism, political
correctness and other such mantras. Mr Klaus and Mr Havel are famous for
representing somewhat polar opposites of the ideological spectrum. Mr
Havel, is widely viewed as the idealist, espousing a philosophical approach
that embraced and nurtured civic participation, while perhaps falling short
on pragmatism. Mr Klaus is widely characterized as the opposite – with
little time for philosophy and far more of an emphasis on cold economic
realism that perhaps fails to include a human face. Many are likely to view
the “dissident” comments as a continuation of the ongoing rivalry
between these two men. Whether critics or supporters will truly come to
view Mr Klaus as a dissident is clearly a matter of perspective and also a
matter of history.
