The reason is the conditions that Czech Television requires of the participating parties. They cannot be people who run in regional and senate elections.
In the case of Priesaha, it is the entire party leadership, and their MEP Nikola Bartůšek is also a candidate in the regional elections. Šlachta himself is running for the Senate in Břeclavsk.
“I wasn’t able to send anyone. Our movement has roughly 300 people and most of them are now candidates. We are sending 500 people to the regional elections,” commented Šlacht.
“In order to draw attention to the absurdity of those rules, I decided to nominate Jaromír Soukup for the Oath. He agreed,” he added.
It is said that he knows Soukup from the days when he went to his shows. “We will have a preparation and he will defend our program there,” he said.
Jaromír Soukup is not currently a member of the party. “It’s premature,” answered Soukup when asked if he intends to join the Oath. At present, he is said to be a sympathizer and friend of Šlacht.
According to Šlachta, this is a one-time event. Depending on how Soukup does in the debate, it will set up further cooperation.
Thanks to the system of ranking the debaters, the oath made it to 9 regional debates of Czech Television, and thus got the opportunity to speak in the Super Debate. It is conceived as a discussion of ten party leaders. Those who are candidates must send a substitute.
Smaller and non-parliamentary parties thus got into trouble. Like Šlachta, for example, the leader of the socialists, Michal Šmarda, cannot participate in the debate. He is running from the ninth place for the council in Vysočín.
The debate will take place on the last evening before the opening of the polling stations.
Jaromír Soukup gradually disappeared from the management of TV Barrandov and from its screen. The indebted company was taken over by entrepreneur Jan Čermák.
