Kolovratník blasted Fiala over CZK 2 billion for roads — now under Babiš it's zero, and he's defending it

ANO party MP Martin Kolovratník, who last July sharply criticized Petr Fiala's government for allocating the regions a mere two billion crowns for the repair of second- and third-class roads, now finds himself in an awkward spot: under the new government of Andrej Babiš, the regions will get not a single crown for this purpose in 2026.

"They were supposed to secure funding for the regions to repair Class II and III roads. But the reality of 2025? Silence. Excuses. And instead of funding — just potholes," the MP wrote on social platform X at the time.

The six-billion promise goes unfulfilled

Fiala's government had pledged to give the regions at least six billion crowns annually starting in 2023. That target was met in 2023, but in 2024 the regions received only four billion, and in 2025 just two billion crowns.

This year, for the first time since 2015, the programme shows a figure of zero. According to the Ministry of Transport, the ministry informed the Association of Regions that it has no reserve funds available to allocate for this type of support.

Strategic projects instead of a general programme

More than four billion crowns is being directed this year toward specific strategic projects on roads managed by the regions. However, this is a fundamentally different kind of support — under the general programme for repair and reconstruction of regional road networks, the regions will not receive a single crown.

When social media user Václav Pilný reminded Kolovratník on X of his remarks from last year, the MP initially dodged the question. He eventually explained the situation by blaming the previous Fiala government and its poor handling of public finances.

He himself once demanded four billion

Indeed, the zero allocation for this programme was already written into the draft budget prepared by the Fiala government. The current cabinet reworked the budget but never restored funding to the programme. Yet it was Kolovratník himself who, two years ago, criticized the previous government for zero subsidies and personally demanded that the regions be given four billion crowns.

"The proposal to increase subsidies from the State Transport Infrastructure Fund by 4 billion is amendment number 5598, which I am co-sponsoring," Kolovratník declared in the Chamber of Deputies two years ago.

So in 2024, Kolovratník rejected the planned zero and demanded four billion. A year later, he called the state's allocation of two billion a failure. And now, in 2026, when Andrej Babiš's government gives the regions absolutely nothing under this programme, the same MP is defending the zero figure — shifting the blame onto the previous cabinet's poor financial management.

Source: novinky.cz