Miroslav Ševčík, the former dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Economics and a well-known economist who is running for the Chamber of Deputies as the SPD leader in the South Moravian Region with the support of Trikolora, PRO and Svobodné, is entering the election battle with his harsh criticism of the government, the European Union and the current state of the economy. In his opinion, the Czech economy is being stifled by expensive energy, excessive bureaucracy and ideological experiments from Brussels. He makes it clear: "Not another crown from public budgets is wasted and the Euro is permanently bye-bye." At the same time, he warns against the return of aesthetic practices and stresses that without freedom of speech, Czech society cannot develop.

How would you characterise the state of the Czech economy today? What do you think is the biggest threat to it and where do you see opportunities for the future?

Fial's government has failed especially in the energy sector. We have some of the highest energy prices in Europe and Fit for 55 is a crazy project that costs us hundreds of billions a year. Germany's most quoted economist, Hans Werner Sinn, called it the most centrist economic project in Europe since World War II.

Dutch economist and senator Henk Otten has criticised Green Doctrine co-author Frans Timmermans for secretly bribing environmental groups with EU money to push through his idiotic green deal, which is now bringing European economies to their knees. Of course, this idiocy dramatically disadvantages our businesses and households. The biggest threat is internal errors - debt, bureaucracy and the adoption of ideological experiments from Brussels. The opportunity is a return to cheap electricity from domestic sources, the development of nuclear power and less regulation in business.

How do you view our membership of the European Union and a possible alternative? Would it be more economically advantageous for the Czech Republic to leave?

If the EU was all about free trade and movement of goods, services and people, it would make sense. But today's EU is a bureaucratic, over-regulated moloch, serving the interests of the Brussels establishment and US financial oligarchs. The alternative for us is EFTA or free trade with the world, including Asia and the BRICS. The eurozone is not an optimal currency zone. The introduction of the euro is a political project that helps Germany but harms smaller countries. We can see that, after the introduction of the euro, Slovakia, for example, is rather lagging behind, that is, diverging, while the Poles or the Swedes, who have kept their currency, are better off. I am saying clearly: not one more crown from public budgets is wasted and a permanent goodbye to the euro.

How do you assess relations with Slovakia and what do you think about the upcoming agreements between the EU and the US?

We are historically close, but unfortunately our paths diverged politically during Fial's reign. Slovakia is more pragmatic, while the Czech Republic is currently more trapped in Eurohujerian ideological gestures. This does not mean that we cannot cooperate in energy or infrastructure. As far as TTIP-type agreements are concerned, each makes sense only if it is also beneficial for our companies. The risk is that we import regulation and an uneven playing field from the EU. If we do not protect our own farmers and industry, we may lose out.

How do you assess the economic situation in Ukraine?

In 2021, the European Court of Auditors stated that despite huge support, Ukraine remains riddled with corruption. Tens of billions of euros disappear there every year. A press release on the release of the audit said, among other things: "However, according to the auditors, the support and measures implemented have not produced the expected results. The EU has supported Ukraine in its reform agenda for more than 20 years. Integral to this support is the fight against corruption, which is a major obstacle to the country's development and contrary to EU values. Grand corruption and state capture are pervasive in Ukraine. As well as undermining competition and growth, they also damage the democratic process. Tens of billions of euros are lost annually as a result of corruption."

The EU has long been aware of the links between oligarchs, high-ranking officials, politicians, the judiciary and state-owned enterprises. But Ukraine has not developed a real strategy to tackle grand corruption, the auditors warn.

Without Western money, the economy would have collapsed long ago. I am a pacifist, I do not want war, but we have to see the reality: this country is dependent on subsidies and other payments from the EU, the US and some other countries, and the conflict is only prolonging the suffering of the people.

How do you perceive the current Czech foreign policy towards China?

Of course, China sees the President's meeting with the Dalai Lama or contacts with Taiwan as interference in its internal affairs. Criticism of human rights is often one-sided and serves as a political tool. Such policies can have real economic consequences - reduced investment, more difficult cooperation. We should be pragmatic, like Hungary, for example. China's economy is becoming the strongest economy in the world in absolute terms, but GDP per capita in purchasing power parity is also growing, technological maturity in some areas has already overtaken that of the world's leading countries, and pragmatism prevails over ideological cries such as the Green Deal.

If Andrej Babiš were to form a government after the elections - what should be in the programme statement? And why did you decide to run?

The priority must be cheap energy, abolition of unnecessary subsidies and redistribution, audit of the state administration, simplification of tax regulations, no tax increases and a return to economic diplomacy. The advantage of running with the support of the SPD, Trikolora, PRO and Svobodné is the combination of forces that reject the bureaucratic and ideological dictates of Brussels and want cheap energy and a freer economy. The pitfall is media demonisation and the attempt to ostracise us. But I am running as an independent - I am not a member of any party and I am guided only by my conscience.

What is your personal goal in politics and how do you see the state of freedom of speech in the Czech Republic?

I want to bring my experience in economics and economic policy to politics, to fight for freedom of speech and against centralization in EUROSAJUZ. I see that the aesthetic practices are returning, and we must stop this. Yes, people are afraid to express their opinions. We have seen this already under the covid. Those who had a different opinion were silenced. Today, it's coming back in an even worse form. Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy and without it, society cannot develop. Personally, I try to follow R.W. Emerson's idea: I would rather suffer for telling the truth than have the truth suffer for my silence.

You also speak harshly about the EU's environmental policy. What specifically would you change?

Clearly repeal the Green Deal. The plan is impoverishing people. In the EU, we would negotiate with countries that feel the same impact. Instead of the 'idiotic Green Deal', we need to offer people affordable energy. At the Department of Economic and Social Policy at the Faculty of National Economy, we have produced a paper proposing a way forward. Here is the link: https://khp.vse.cz/aktuality/ne-green-dealu-zlevnime-energie-koncept-reseni-pro-cr/

How do you assess the change in pension indexation promoted by the Fial government and what do you think is a sustainable model of the pension system in the long term?

That was a criminal change. Pensioners lost money. Every pensioner until 30.9.2025 lost at least 33 000 CZK. Although the Constitutional Court ruled that this is not unconstitutional, but we all know how it is composed today. The rule of law is broken, the courts' decisions are often a matter of chance. When it comes to the long-term sustainability of the pension system, the answer is simple: have children. Every family should have at least two children, but three would be better. That is my answer to young people who ask how they can be sure that they will one day have a decent pension. Without natural population renewal, it simply won't work.

With Zuzana Majerová, chairwoman of the political party Trikolora

You are an economist. What do you think about the current tax system and its exceptions - for example, the zero tax on wine?

There are a huge number of exceptions, dozens, maybe hundreds. I would abolish the unnecessary ones. But a zero tax on still wine makes sense - it is a logical support for winemaking and a region like South Moravia.

If you were to summarize three values on which the Czech Republic should build?

First: freedom above all (Libertas ultra omnia) and responsibility. Second: pragmatism in economics and foreign policy. And thirdly: sovereignty - to decide for ourselves at home and not to be decided for us by the unelected politburo of EUROSAJUZ in Brussels.

gnews.cz / kal