Part of the opposition to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s (YES) speech praised the citizens, acknowledging the government’s mistakes or calling for vaccinations. On the contrary, it lacked a plan for the future or a condemnation of misinformation. Representatives of the opposition parties told ČTK or stated it on Twitter. The premiered speech of the Prime Minister was broadcast tonight.
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“It is good that this time the Prime Minister did not blame or blame anyone, but mentioned the effects of the measures on citizens,” ODS chairman Petr Fiala said on Twitter. “The non-confrontational tone and thanks to the people were certainly appropriate, I lacked a clear plan and outlook on how the government will proceed this year in overcoming the consequences of the pandemic,” he added.
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It is good that the Prime Minister did not blame or blame anyone this time, but mentioned the effects of the measures on citizens. A non-confrontational tone and thanks to the people were certainly in place, I lacked a clear plan and outlook on how the government will proceed this year in overcoming the consequences of the pandemic.
— Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) January 1, 2021
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The chairwoman of TOP 09, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, praised the citizens and paramedics at Babiš’s speech, and she also liked the call for vaccinations. In principle, according to her, the Prime Minister’s speech lacked a clear condemnation of misinformation, inference of personal responsibility for not managing the epidemic and sincerity, she wrote on her Twitter account.
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The head of the Mayors and Independents (STAN) Vít Rakušan also saw the pros and cons at the speech. He praised the attempt at humility and acknowledging mistakes, and highlighted the call for dialogue. But he added that the opposition had been trying for dialogue for a year. He underlined the “dissenting wavy line” to downplay the debt, the lie about digitization and the praise of the army, which the government took away with the KSČM. He lacked a vision of the future and information on how to vaccinate.
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According to SPD chairman Tomio Okamura, the prime minister gave a large amount of false information in his speech. According to him, the biggest crisis was not caused by a pandemic, but by chaotic autumn government measures. “Furthermore, the Prime Minister says that the children could not go to school and the self-employed found themselves without income, etc., but the truth is that he should say ‘the government banned children from going to school, the government deprived self-employed persons and employees of illogical income measures, etc.’,” she said. ČTK statement by Okamura by its spokeswoman Barbora Zeťová.
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Okamura also denied that the Czechia could afford another billion in debts. “Unlike Prime Minister Babiš, I do not consider it a bonus that citizens can only be seen with their family or friends via the Internet and that people are sitting at home,” he said. He also lacked an outline of a solution to how the government wants to start the economy.
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According to KDU-ČSL chairman Marian Jurečka Babiš “quite realistically” evaluated the past year, assessed the mistakes of the government, but did not give much hope for 2021. “He talked about vaccination, but I lacked greater hope for those who lost income due to government measures and the Prime Minister expressed his understanding and added his own business experience, but his Agrofert was not negatively affected by government measures and the Prime Minister did not give these people and their families any vision of greater government assistance for 2021, “he told ČTK.
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Pirate Vice President Olga Richterová praised the Prime Minister’s “self-reflection” and acknowledged responsibility for the government’s mistakes. “The Czechia works in a crisis only thanks to the people, not the government. However, I was sorry to repeat the mistake that poverty is not a problem in our country: the mentioned statistics do not include income after execution, but before it, “she wrote on Twitter.
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