Culture minister Klempíř's strategy comes under fire from other ministries and dozens of organisations

The draft of a new cultural strategy put forward by Czech Culture Minister Martin Klempíř has drawn sharp criticism from several government ministries as well as from more than 60 professional organisations in the cultural and creative sector. The news was reported by the news portal irozhlas.cz.

The Ministry of Finance points out that the document touches on the powers of other ministries and local government bodies, yet fails to calculate the additional burden it would place on the state budget. The Ministry of the Interior notes the absence of any analytical section, while the Ministry of Industry and Trade complains that the plan lacks specifics, fails to connect with existing strategies, and does not describe what results are expected.

Complaints from education and the army

The Ministry of Education calls the draft overly vague and is demanding an implementation plan complete with a budget framework, defined areas of responsibility, and a timeline. The Ministry of Defence, led by Jaroslav Zůna of the SPD party, is also unhappy — officials there discovered that the Culture Ministry's document does not mention them at all, despite the fact that the ministry runs its own music and dance ensemble, Ondráš.

Despite the barrage of criticism, Minister Klempíř insists he is in the right. “Our strategy is flawless and, most importantly, grounded in reality,” he wrote on X. Nonetheless, his ministry will now have to address all the objections before presenting the document to the government.

Industry groups demand the document be withdrawn

Criticism is also coming directly from the cultural and creative sector. The Culture and Creative Federation, together with 60 other professional organisations and associations, has appealed to the government to withdraw the new document and instead begin implementing the State Cultural Policy for 2026–2030, which was already approved back in 2025.

The authors of the protest statement argue that the new draft was prepared without following proper procedure and does not meet the standards required of a state strategic document. In their assessment, its weakest points are the analysis, stakeholder involvement, and the implementation mechanism. The federation and the signatories of the open letter also note that the professional community only learned of the draft in late July — and even then via the website of the Chamber of Commerce — without initially being given any chance to submit comments.

Minister Klempíř is not backing down: “There is absolutely no reason to change anything. Responsibility for state cultural policy lies with the minister and the Ministry of Culture, not with industry associations or cultural organisations,” he said in response to the criticism.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz