• 04/05/2022
• By wizewebsite
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Zdechovsky: I'm a bulldozer in politics. Gay couples don't care about marriage<

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You were the first to pick up the thrown glove, why were you also the first to throw a pitchfork and give up your candidacy?

So it was necessary for a strong leadership to emerge from that congress. And it's not just about the chairman, it's also about the vice-chairmen. And it's important that really everyone in that close leadership is people who can talk. It was a pity for me to argue, to break up over who would be the chairman, because all three of those candidates had a vision, but that vision was not very different from each other.

Did you see that you were clearly going to fight for the presidency?

The moment you want to be chairman, you have to define yourself somehow. And at that moment, I felt it would be an extraordinary descent. Our speeches followed the speeches of Marek Výborný, who there reflected some things that happened during those 10 months. And I don't think the fighting mood between us was like that at the moment, or the camps weren't as profiled as if it were a normal convention. At the normal congress, you know, for example, half a year in advance that it is being prepared, and you can talk more with delegates and organizations about your program points or what you want to do with KDU-ČSL. But now it was mainly about media shortcuts, about the various things that are associated with this or the other candidate, so there wasn't much time.

And you didn't know that before you applied for the candidacy?

I didn't know which of them would sign up. In fact, when I applied for the candidacy, the two of them said they weren't going. So at that moment, I went into it completely openly and it was an open game on my part. It wasn't like I was counting on anything.

Didn't it matter that you realized you'd rather be in Brussels?

I think that at that moment it was really a matter of KDU-ČSL rebounding. It was about strengthening KDU-ČSL. And if I was here, I would accept the role and immediately start working the way Marian Jurečka started working immediately.

Tomáš Zdechovský

Politician, manager and media analyst. In 2004–2005 he was the editor-in-chief of the Christian server ChristNet.cz. In 2004, he founded the PR agency Commservis.com and worked as an executive at WIFI Czech Republic. Since 2014, he has been a member of the KDU-ČSL in the European Parliament. He is involved in a campaign to return the Michalák boys, who were taken away from the authorities in Norway by their mother. He studied political communication in Rome and a master's degree in media studies and journalism at Masaryk University in Brno.

You put a house-style photo on your Twitter. It doesn't quite look like Frank Underwood's strategy, what you did, that is, announced the candidacy and then withdrew.

That's what my team gave, we had some photoshoots on the Thursday before the convention. And he really wouldn't do it. But I think when emotions subside, everyone will know that it was the best possible solution. I would like all the people in the current presidency, plus Bob the German. And at the moment, the team is the best that was possible.

And why didn't you at least run for first vice president?

Marek Výborný had some wishes. Surprisingly, he chose Šárka Jelínková as his first vice-president for me. Šárka Jelínková ran some work and I don't think she was bad at that job. At the time when Marek was dealing with personal matters, Šárka did an incredible amount of work and kept him. And today Marian Jurečka, who was elected chairman and has a mandate, has the opportunity to say who he wants as first vice-chairman. If he told Honza Bartošek or me, I would respect that.

You said that Šárka Jelínková was chosen quite surprisingly for you, what surprised you about that?

It was a surprise then that he had chosen her. I was really waiting, and maybe I had such ideas that if the fight was Marian versus Marek, the one who loses will take the other as his first vice-president. The tandem was simply offered at the time. Both of them were simply deputies, and in my opinion Marian is one of those people who are some of the most industrious in KDU-ČSL.

You can also listen to the whole show.

Will you talk more into domestic politics, or will you move back to your agenda in Brussels?

Now I want to speak mainly until the elections in 2020 and I want to focus on the party's communication and on that party to start modernizing more.

What exactly do you want to promote? Because you say that people have to open other topics than just the family. Should we take it by leaving the flagship that has been crucial for KDU-ČSL so far, ie family policy?

So this congress already shows a certain shift. In addition to the family, we started talking about parents, which means that we are also talking about single women, we are talking about parents who are raising children, but it is not the whole family. That means there are other topics we want to open up. We have a really six months of hard analysis, data and so on. So people would like to see us offer some security program, economic affairs.

Are you saying that you will now focus on your parents, which means that your parents were not treated as a family before the People's Party?

Many parents from the research we have done show that, for example, the KDU-ČSL preference was not very high for single women. It was simply due to several factors and some statements that were not explained later.

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Former chairman Pavel Bělobrádek's statements?

Yes. And which just needs to be explained today in the context of how we imagine childcare, and I think there is a need to discuss more with people in this.

Will you also discuss gays? Because you commented on the subject by saying, "We shouldn't go to anyone's bedside and check if they have a man or a woman in bed. We must attract conservative gays and lesbians to our constituents, among other things by not limiting ourselves to them. I calculated that in KDU-ČSL we have over 22 gays and lesbians in middle-top politics. Whether it is urban or regional politics. Many gays and lesbians are also our voters. It is not right to constantly criticize the Prague Pride march when it comes to the action of only a certain minority group. ”You said that for Aktuálně.cz. Did you recalculate homosexuals at the convention, MEP?

No, he didn't recalculate. And you recalculated them?

We have something to offer gays

She didn't count, but you probably felt like you should count them.

I explained it in that context. Very often people are surprised that gays vote for KDU-ČSL. They say: You have nothing to offer them. But perhaps that particular conservatism and approach to life and values ​​is very interesting to many gays and lesbians. Politically interesting, that's why I wanted to explain that he elects us. I probably wouldn't use the number 22 today, I'd talk about two dozen people, but I just made a mistake, I admit, I'm just human, it was a great lesson.

And what is conservative gay in your submission?

This is a person who just really wants the Czech Republic to have certain rules. It is simply focused on topics such as environmental protection, security, it is very important for him to have a stable economy, a stable business environment.

And why do you associate it with being gay and conservative? Because it doesn't matter what kind of person it is.

I explained it in the context of that question, if you read the whole interview, then it's explained in that interview. I don't care what the man does, I don't care if he's gay.

As people, how do you want to address gay couples when there is no will in your party, for example, to legislate marriage for all?

And do you think all gays agree that they want marriage for everyone?

I do not have a survey, but according to the way they are lobbying for this law in the House, they say they would welcome it. And it would be their choice. Because not all heterosexual couples also need the institution of marriage, and yet some do, and some see it as a survival or something they don't.

One lobby group is lobbying for this, but if you really met people in this community and really had an open conversation with them, most of them will admit to you that they do not want such a marriage, which would be at the level of a man and a woman.

And how many people like that have you talked to who say they don't want to?

I don't have the exact numbers right now.

Didn't you count them?

I didn't count them, but they are hundreds of people.

The vast majority of gays and lesbians are for marriage, the initiative responds

The initiative We Are Fair!

"In an interview, the deputy claims that gay couples do not want marriage. And that's not true. 96% of gays and lesbians say that marriage would significantly improve their quality of life. This results in one of the ombudswoman's most extensive questionnaire inquiries, "Filip Milde responded from the We Are Fair!

The Ombudsman's Office has been investigating the problems and obstacles that LGBT + people have faced over the last five years, how they believe society accepts them and what stereotypes and prejudices they have encountered.

"And there were more people responding than the 'MEP' counted. A total of 1981 lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans people took part in the research, "Milde added.

And do you think that opinion will remain in your side, or will you move on and change it?

I think that opinion will stay there. However, I say that we have opened a debate on how to communicate with these people. Gays and lesbians are among us, and it is necessary not to have a confrontational policy, but to have a policy that we listen, listen, exchange views and start communicating with each other. I've never met people from the We're Fair initiative before. We discussed this for over an hour last Monday.

And what did you get out of that meeting?

I wanted to hear their arguments and we took it as an introductory kick.

And those arguments didn't convince you to say that, in your view, most gay couples don't want marriage?

There have been several documents about raising children, and I wondered if, for example, the fact that gays and lesbians can apply for foster care today is widespread, if those people know about it, if we really don't repeat some of the phrases here that are no longer true today.

Didn't they appeal to you to change your mind about marriage for all?

They must have been trying to convince me, I also got some materials that I studied honestly, and now let's move on. I am invited to several gay and lesbian Christian communities during the spring and I definitely want to talk to them about their problems. They explained to me, for example, what they would like to adjust in a registered partnership, where they see problems when something happens to one, and so on. Today, most hospitals already provide information to the other partner when you give your consent or prove that you live with the person, and most hospitals and doctors do not decide whether you are married or not.

I'm not for gay marriage

You personally, if you were in the Czech Parliament and this proposal was voted on, then what would be your position?

I would not personally vote in favor.

So you wouldn't vote in favor?

I would vote against.

Let's look at one more topic. At the convention, it looked like you would be choosing between two streams. In the meantime, whether Jan Bartošek will be in order to form coalitions with other opposition parties and create a bloc on how to defeat Andrej Babiš. Or between Marian Jurečka, who was perceived as one who would simply not go into those coalitions. Is it so that now that you have Marian Jurečka, the People's Party will no longer connect with anyone?

So I think that would be a misinterpretation. Marian Jurečka, perhaps more than anyone else, has gone through the fact that we wanted to form a coalition with STAN, and she knows that there are some risks that the coalition brings. And he may have emphasized it to my taste. I think it's very open. Marian herself is a man who tries to connect. He himself created a relatively strong coalition for the Olomouc region and has ambitions to win elections with this coalition in the Olomouc region.

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But these are regional elections, I am talking about those elections to the Chamber of Deputies.

And then I think the elections to the Chamber of Deputies will follow. I personally say that there are several of us in the presidency who are open to discussing this, and I think that the presidency will certainly have a significant influence on the direction in which the entire KDU-ČSL will go.

And KDU-ČSL vice-president Tomáš Zdechovský would advise which direction to contact?

I have coined and I have long co-operated with conservative parties, not only with small ones, where the Czech Koruna is actually, they are Monarchists, they are SNK-ED, etc., simply those entities that are a pity if they run for themselves. Let's offer them places on candidates. And then there are actually larger entities, where of course there is a natural cooperation with the ODS, TOP 09. And if it turns out that this cooperation would make sense, then I will personally support this cooperation.

How would you cope with the attitude of the ODS towards the European Union? Because there is great Euroscepticism.

We are definitely solving it, we have discussed it with Ondřej Benešík many times, on the other hand I say: you will not agree 100% with any partner when you go to a coalition. Even with TOP 09 we don't have the same views on all things, so you always have to make a compromise.

How much, MEP, do you believe that this will not end in a clip where you will hold hands, but will break up before the election and go one by one?

I think who knows me knows I'm a bulldozer in this. When we make a decision, I don't see a step backwards, when we make a decision and the fact that it goes through all the bodies, it just won't happen again.