Fiala and Okamura clash over abolishing Czech TV and radio fees

Former prime minister Petr Fiala has accused the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura, of restricting the opposition’s rights during debate on abolishing television and radio fees. Okamura rejected the claims, saying the Chamber acted lawfully and that the coalition decided the matter together. The row flared up on the programme “Partie Terezie Tománkové” the day after the government bill passed its first reading.

Fiala: this is not how democracy works

Fiala said the coalition unexpectedly put the bill on the agenda on Friday and cut the opposition’s speaking time. He also noted that opposition deputy speakers were unable to chair the session, and that he himself was not given the floor as an ordinary deputy. According to him, in the previous term Okamura was allowed to speak for eleven hours straight.

“This is not normal democratic politics,” Fiala said, calling the coalition’s actions a threat to democracy. In his view, democracy most often disappears not through the cancellation of elections but through gradual steps that restrict it. He also accused the government of breaking its promises, in particular on lowering mortgage rates, and charged Okamura with working for Prime Minister Babiš.

Okamura: the decision was made jointly

Okamura dismissed the accusations that he had broken the law and confirmed that he himself had pushed for the bill to be taken up as a priority. He said this was the result of an agreement among the heads of the coalition parliamentary groups. He also recalled that former culture minister Martin Baxa of the ODS had promised not to raise the fees, yet they went up under Fiala’s government.

In defence of abolishing the fees, the speaker cited a Kantar poll, which he said shows that 60 percent of people want them scrapped. He also spoke sharply about the protesters outside the Chamber building, claiming they had used “brutal violence.” However, according to police spokeswoman Eva Kropáčková, nobody was detained at Friday’s demonstration in support of Czech Television and Czech Radio, and the situation was calmed down.

What happens next with the bill

The government bill passed its first reading in the Chamber of Deputies in the early hours of Saturday. The opposition failed to get it rejected or sent back to the government for revision, and it will now go to committees. Opponents of the proposal protested outside the Chamber from Friday evening and stayed there overnight. The opposition promises to keep fighting the bill.

The original plan was to replace the fees with money from the state budget as early as next year: ČT would receive 5.74 billion crowns a year, and Czech Radio 2.07 billion. Compared with the fee revenue planned for this year, television would lose roughly a billion crowns and radio 400 million. Okamura estimates that the changes will not be ready by the start of next year, and that the rest of the legislative process will take about six months.

Czech Television warns of programme cuts, layoffs and postponed investment. Czech Radio speaks of consequences for the volume and quality of its broadcasting and fears for its independence and the stability of its income.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz