The Tricolor Citizens’ Movement political party (Trikolóra) aims to introduce regular referendums on withdrawal from the European Union every time there is a parliamentary election, which would significantly raise the chances of Czechxit occurring. The movement embraced this point when modifying its election program. According to the chairman of the movement, Václav Klaus Jr. the reason for the change in the program was the simplification of the movement’s stance towards the EU. Klaus Jr. is the son of former Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus , one of the most important figures in modern Czech political history. “We used to talk about the termination of the Lisbon Treaty, but it seems that we were incapable of explaining this to the voters fully,” Klaus told the Echo24 online daily. Although Czechs support their membership in the EU, there are a number of points where Czechs diverge from the policies promoted in Brussels, such as its welcoming stance towards migrants and its past attempts to impose migrant quotas on member states .
For example, polling shows that Czechs are the most skeptical of mass immigration from foreign countries in the entire EU. They are also the most likely to oppose migration to their country from other EU countries. EU laws makes up 60 percent of Czech laws Unlike the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) movement, however, the Tricolor does not seek Czechxit. Still, Klaus Jr. has been vocally opposed to the EU in the past. “We are preparing a law proposal that should be ready by Monday,” said Klaus Jr. about the draft. “We will request a referendum on remaining in the Union to be part of every parliamentary election. The reason behind this is not only to save money but also our conviction that the people of this nation have the right to make decisions about our country, where our ancestors lived since the time of St. Wenceslas,” Klaus Jr. continued. EU directives currently make up 60 percent of Czech laws. “So it is unreasonable to lead any political struggles about the 40 percent of the laws and not vote on the rest of the agenda. We are not calling for Czechxit, but we are calling for respect for democratic rules,” said Klaus. Previously, leaving the EU was not a topic for the relatively new Tricolor movement. The party only called for the return of the Union as it was before the Treaty of Lisbon, which strengthened some of the EU’s powers. “It was not a topic for the regional elections. But there will be parliamentary elections, and national issues are being addressed. We agreed that we should try to be more unambiguous now. Current times are difficult, and there is no time for anything neutral,” said Klaus. He asserted that the movement is not seeking hard Czechxit.
“Currently, the Czech Republic does not have the strength to withdraw from the Union. On the other hand, what the EU is up to, the Green Deal, migration, and other things, is devastating. It should be clear in the future that only Czech citizens have to decide on life in the Czech Republic, and we cannot give up this right,” Klaus believes. The referendum on leaving the EU is at the heart of Tomia Okamura’s SPD agenda. According to current electoral preferences, Okamura’s movement would receive about 8 percent of the votes in parliamentary elections, while the Tricolour would gain only between 2 and 3 percent of the votes. Title image: Václav Klaus Jr. (on the left) as the Tricolour Citizens’ Movement reveals the party logo (Trikolóra / Facebook)
