“If (the group) will not only talk about what the change in financing and technicalities should look like, but will decide whether the existing system is not the best after all, then I ask Prime Minister Babiš to also invite us as a representative of the opposition,” he said at a press conference in the Austrian Parliament on Thursday.
At the same time, he added that the government is proceeding in the opposite way than it should in the whole matter. According to him, the group should have been created before the submission of the law.
The mayors convened a meeting on Thursday afternoon, where they invited representatives of all parliamentary parties and the directors of Czech Television and Czech Radio to discuss the topic of public media.
The meeting was attended by both heads of the media and representatives of the opposition and government parties.
The participation of the Minister of Culture Ota Klempíř (Motorists) was uncertain until the last moment. “Fees will be discussed in the Chamber of Deputies today. I would very much like to be there because the debate is very personal for me and not just professional,” said Klempíř on Thursday afternoon. In the end, however, he did not show up due to a business trip.
The meeting ended shortly before five in the afternoon. Subsequently, STAN published a written statement. “The government’s proposals are not just about cuts. It is a direct attack on the independence and the very existence of public service media. If these proposals were to pass, both institutions are at risk of real insolvency. ČT already has contracts for years in advance, for example sports broadcasts or the Olympics, for hundreds of millions of crowns. In addition, we learned that the law wants to make the ČT Council a ‘television organ’, which would mean that elected politicians would have a direct influence on the program,” said Starostové and independents after the meeting.
The meeting had two outcomes. The representatives of the opposition decided to call on MP Patrik Nacher to withdraw the draft law regarding the adjustment of fees for Czech Television.
The second request is for Minister Oto Klempíř. The opposition demands that he convene a meeting of all parliamentary parties and that he also attend.
The draft law, which Klempíř presented last week, transfers the financing of Czech Television and Czech Radio from fees to the state budget, while at the same time deducting 1.4 billion crowns from them for the next year.
Unions and employees of CT, CRo and the Public Law initiative announced an indefinite strike alert on Wednesday due to the law. According to them, the proposal would lead to budget fluctuations and mass layoffs, and the media would not be able to fulfill their mission.
Due to the aforementioned bill, a working group will also be established with the participation of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and experts. He should start working after May 15.
