Photo: website ODS.CZ
(Aktuálně.cz) Transport Minister Martin Kupka of the ODS party admits that he is building on ANO's work in opening transport constructions, but he completely rejects the label of "belt cutter". The preparation takes up to 12 years and it is logical that I am following my predecessor, he says in an interview with Aktuálně.cz. The government is successful, he says, and the people can see that. "If we did not have Petr Fiala with his insight and authority as prime minister, it would be much worse."
You have had a week in which you as a governing coalition had to overcome a serious dispute over the fact that a minister from STAN appointed his own euro commissioner. After heated negotiations, the parties agreed that he would be an adviser only. Do you think that this is the end of the dispute?
The important thing is that we quickly found a good way out. We have cleared the table and sent a clear message to the public that we want to address citizens' problems first and foremost. I am glad that we did not burn more energy than necessary with this internal conflict.
You are the vice-chairman of ODS, did you discuss with the chairman and Prime Minister Petr Fiala how to solve the problem? Have you considered that he would demand Martin Dvořák's resignation from the government for appointing his proxy without consultation?
There was no time to discuss this in detail beforehand, but we did discuss it at the Mayors' Club and our membership also discussed it. We agreed that it needed to be addressed.
Did Petr Fiala from ODS have any "assignment"?
The solution, in which Martin Dvořák backed down from appointing a commissioner, was created during a meeting of representatives of the government parties.
Are you satisfied with the result?
Yes, in fact the problem was solved within two days. Which is good news for the company.
However, the government's problem of low public trust remains. Do you understand the STAN chairman and your government colleague, Vít Rakušan, who wants some self-reflection and talks about the fact that the government must change its behaviour in some matters?
I don't want to go back to this or interpret it in any way. If there are five parties, it is logical that they have differences in their views on some things. The important thing is that they have managed to unite and agree on a government programme. What is important is that the disagreements do not become such that they weaken the government. As ODS, we have a slightly different opinion on the euro or on tax increases than STAN, but we will always seek consensus.
Do you perceive that some government voters are cheering the activities of Vít Rakušan and the Mayors? It's good that someone's coming up with this whiff "of fresh wind"?
I wish it were so, because it is important that people know that the government is evaluating its activities and what the citizens are concerned about. At the same time, we consider that perhaps the biggest problem is that we are not succeeding in spreading a positive mood in society. When I look at our two years in government, we have certainly not failed. We have been able to lead the country out of difficult economic problems, we have been able to face up to a complicated international situation, and at the same time we are investing in the future of the country.
Could it be that some of the government voters feel as if your ODS is standing still and the Mayors are taking the initiative?
I fundamentally disagree. At the same time, I don't want to argue about who has more energy or how the public perceives it. If we are going to succeed as a government, we cannot push ourselves around like this. We are making really visible changes. In transport or elsewhere, I really do not feel that we are short of energy. On the contrary, we have the pull.
And does your Prime Minister have the energy and the drive?
No doubt. We now have two years for society to assess whether we can kick-start the economy in the face of much more pressure from misinformation, negative news and attacks from the opposition, which is trying to portray our country as a failure. I, on the other hand, meet a lot of entrepreneurs, scientists and doctors who show that in many ways and in many fields we are reaching the level of the best countries in the world.
But what do you think about the low trust in the Prime Minister that the polls show?
If we have succeeded in anything as a government and a country, it is in the way we have handled all major international conflicts that could have threatened and brought the country to its knees. If we had not had Petr Fiala with his insight and authority as Prime Minister, things would have been much worse. This is how historians and political scientists may describe it in a few years. The current superficial debate cannot illuminate it, but this is the truth.
I am hearing concerns from politicians of the governing coalition in the regions about how they will fare in the regional elections, given the low popularity of the government.
It will undoubtedly have an impact on the public mood, but the elections are not until October and people will see what will have changed by then. For example, inflation will fall to between three and four per cent. That will undoubtedly be a boost to society. Real wages will also rise, digitalisation will continue.
We are a nation that likes to quibble, likes to sink into depression, self-loathing and a complete loss of self-esteem. Especially when properly encouraged by the opposition. That is a great pity.
How is it possible that almost 35 years after the fall of communism we do not have a modern highway and rail network with high-speed trains like the most advanced countries?
I'd like to keep the facts straight. In 1989, the motorway network was 350 kilometres long. In 30 years, we have built more than 1 000 kilometres of motorways. So it is not true that nothing has happened. Yes, more should have happened, but what we found was that the laws started to balance the environmental interests much more, whereas the communist looked the other way and wherever he pointed, things were just built or worse things were done.
However, there has been a significant delay.
If our country is a bit of an ocean liner that takes time to move, then the railways are three ocean liners.
Would you admit that the ODS shares responsibility for this state of affairs?
Of course, ODS has been here since the early 1990s. At the same time, it must be said that many things have been managed. Look, for example, at how the face of our cities has changed enormously for the better.
But why don't we go further just in building roads and railways?
Maybe because there were no politicians here who would vigorously say: This is what the country needs, we will do it, and it will mean that we will amend the laws, secure funding and go to the people to convince them that it makes sense to build roads and railways. We need politicians who have the energy, the determination to change things and to face up to difficult situations.
What are you doing in this particular area?
I am doing my best to ensure that we can accelerate the repayment of our huge infrastructure debt. After all, it is not normal that we do not have the basic motorway network completed and have not yet started building high-speed lines. Our country must not remain a white spot on the map of Europe in this respect.
In addition, I'm also working on digitalisation, and right now we're making another important breakthrough. After we abolished some unnecessary paperwork last year, people can now, for example, register their vehicle via the Transport Portal. And we will continue to digitise.
Have you noticed that ANO chairman Andrej Babiš portrays you as a person who supposedly just cuts tapes?
It is necessary that there is a fight in politics, but I want it to be fought with hard facts. When Andrej Babiš shouts about how we lie about everything and do nothing, he is simply not telling the truth.
But what do you say to his claim that a lot of transport construction has taken off under him?
I don't like this bickering, it's stupid and low. After all, it is quite obvious that every Transport Minister builds on what has been in the pipeline for years before he or she came to office. I am aware of that and I show my appreciation for what has been achieved in the preparation of the works in the previous years. At the same time, however, the opposition must not turn against us if our Government maintains the pace of investment, prepares many projects and completes others.
But YES feels that you give little attention to their contribution.
I'm not hiding it. But it would be nice if YES did not disparage objective facts with its money games. And they clearly say that we have substantially accelerated preparation in recent years, which is evident not only in the number of buildings being opened. In truth, most key projects often started with first decisions ten or twelve years ago.
How do you speed up, for example, the construction of motorways?
I can show in charts and data what has been achieved. Here you can see (The Minister shows graphs, ed.)how our government continues to draw down the budget of the State Transport Infrastructure Fund in favour of the Road and Motorway Directorate, with the curve going ever upwards. This chart shows how we are investing record amounts of money to prepare for construction. And here you can see that we will open the most kilometres of motorways this year. (This year the state plans to open about 120 kilometres of motorways. The D4 from Prague to Písek will be completely finished, and the entire D3 around České Budějovice, ed.)
With the understanding that you are building on the work of your predecessors.
Yeah, right. And after us, there will be others who will build on our work. On the other hand, my predecessor, Karel Havlíček of ANO, could not logically pursue some things, because he held two ministries (Havlíček was also Minister of Industry and Trade and Minister of Transport, ed.), so he did not deal with local governments as much and did not look for technical solutions in specific places of construction. He also did not show and explain to people why it was necessary to build infrastructure.
I try to do that too, I often go to different places to talk to people. I also go around the country to explain to the public why we need high-speed lines. But something like this is not as popular with the press as what the ANO movement boasts about.
(Author: Radek Bartoníček)
The interview was published on Aktuálně.cz.
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