The leader of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, Tomio Okamura, sent a letter to the Hungarian ambassador on Tuesday, apologizing for disparaging remarks made by the Chamber of Deputies Speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová (TOP 09) about Hungary.
Recently, Pekarová Adamová wrote on Facebook that the Czechs had already expelled their former prime minister, Andrej Babiš, in the elections and hoped that the Hungarians will do the same with Viktor Orbán.
Her statements provoked criticism from the parliamentary opposition, with the SPD unsuccessfully pushing for the deputies to discuss the statement.
In addition to Okamura, the letter to the Hungarian ambassador was signed by the majority of SPD deputies but also by ANO movement member, Stanislav Berkovec. The signatories of the letter described the statement of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies as hostile, stupid, and arrogant.
In her post, Pekarová Adamová reprimanded Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for not hesitating to establish dubious ties with countries such as Russia and China at the expense of Hungary’s allies.
“It is important for the Czech Republic that Hungary chooses a change in the April elections – just like we did,” she wrote.
On Twitter, she later accused Orbán of de facto supporting the shooting of Kazakh citizens during the country’s recent civil unrest.
Zeman: Pekarová Adamová damages relations with Hungary
President Miloš Zeman called the statement “completely unqualified.” According to him, Pekarová Adamová has damaged relations with Hungary and is grossly interfering in the internal affairs of the Hungarian state. The former head of the Chamber of Deputies, Radek Vondráček (ANO), claimed the statement grossly undermined the position of the chairman of the lower house.
“Maybe Mrs Pekarová Adamová pleased her fans, but she is hurting our country and our relations with friends in an unprecedented way,” he said.
In response to statements by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies a week ago, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) noted that the government was responsible for foreign policy.
“As Prime Minister, I will try to coordinate the positions of individual constitutional officials,” he added.
