“I want to make it clear once again, after some debates in the Czech Republic: of course I will go to the Sudeten German Congress in Brno. It is an expression of support for the Sudeten Germans,” Söder said on Monday at a press conference after the meeting of the chairmanship of his Christian Social Union (CSU) party in Munich.
According to the program on the website of the Sudeten German expatriate association, Söder will give a speech at the congress.
The Bavarian Prime Minister is traditionally the patron of the Sudeten Germans, who since 1954 have been considered one of the tribes of Bavaria alongside the Swabians, Franks and Old Bavarians.
From the Congress of Sudeten Germans, the Bavarian Prime Minister will go to the Czech President Petr Pavl, who invited him to Prague Castle. “I also received an invitation from Czech President Pavel. And on the same day, at his invitation, I will visit him at Prague Castle,” he said. “I was very pleased, because I think this is a very good signal of reconciliation,” added the Bavarian Prime Minister.
In addition to Söder, German Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt, who is also a member of the CSU, is also going to Brno next week.
In an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motoriste sebe) stated that German politicians will not enjoy the event. “I don’t think that Prime Minister Söder and Minister Dobrindt will enjoy this day in Brno,” said Macinka in an interview he gave to FAZ on Friday during a visit to Berlin.
He did not explain the reason why top German politicians should not enjoy the congress. He only said that the criticism of the congress is not directed against Germany, with whom, according to him, the Czech Republic has “excellent relations”.
For the first time in the Czech Republic
The Sudeten German congress will take place from May 22 to 25 in Brno. It will be the first time in the Czech Republic, as part of the Meeting Brno festival. The government coalition of ANO, SPD and Motorists proposed a resolution to the Chamber of Deputies in which they want it to disagree with the organization of a congress of Sudeten Germans in the Czech Republic.
In addition, according to the proposal, the lower chamber of the Czech parliament should call on the organizers to abandon the event. After the adjournment, the resolution will be discussed again on Thursday. The organizers have already stated that the convention will take place regardless of how the deputies vote.
The attitude of the Czech government parties to the congress was already criticized last week, in addition to CSU representatives, as well as members of the Bavarian branch of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which the German secret service identified as demonstrably right-wing extremist last May.
