Babiš calls night vote on Czech Television licence fees unfortunate

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has admitted that the first reading of the bill abolishing licence fees for public media did not go well. Deputies voted after half past four in the morning, but according to Babiš, it was a necessary step, and democracy is not under threat.

“They were tired and wanted to go home”

On Saturday, on the TV Nova programme, the prime minister said: “Perhaps we could have waited longer, but there were already demonstrators outside. It is silly that someone is making a symbol out of that time. Yes, the time is not ideal. Our deputies were afraid, tired and wanted to go home.”

He insists that the bill could not have been debated otherwise, claiming the opposition would have prevented its passage, though Babiš did not specify how. He rejected the accusation of an attack on democracy: “Nobody wants to influence the media. We will follow the European directive, which guarantees media independence and the predictability of changes.” He was not in the chamber during the debate, saying there was no need for him to be.

The law has passed only the first of three readings, after which it goes to the Senate and the president. Babiš accused the opposition of dragging the debate out until morning with its speeches. In the second reading, he promised, the coalition will not limit the discussion: “Let everyone say what they want.”

How the vote went

The Chamber of Deputies unexpectedly began considering the abolition of television and radio fees on Friday, although the ruling majority had not warned of it in advance. Deputies then voted to sit through the night and all of Saturday. On Friday evening, Chamber speaker Tomio Okamura set a fixed voting time of 4:36 a.m.; another 65 deputies were then signed up to speak. Opposition parties have already said they will turn to the Constitutional Court.

Strike, protests and “aggressive people”

Czech Television and Czech Radio are preparing a strike for next week: employees fear for the independence of both media outlets. People took to the streets last weekend, and a new large demonstration is planned for 15 November, when the “Million Moments” association will hold a rally on Prague’s Letná.

The public reaction surprised the prime minister. He blamed the protests and the division on the opposition: “People have the right to protest, I’m not afraid of that. But there is a huge amount of hatred now. People are very aggressive. Someone benefits from completely dividing society.” Babiš also recalled the 2024 assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and expressed hope that the protests would not reach the scale of those currently seen in France.

The prime minister also returned to the idea that money for public media should not come directly from the budget: “Of course, we will guarantee a certain amount. It will effectively be a mandatory expense, meaning an unchanging one. We will propose a voluntary contribution: whoever wants to pay, can.”

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz