Senate candidate Kuba: Pensions in Czechia won't stay this high forever

South Bohemian Governor and leader of the Motorists for Themselves... wait, no — leader of the Our Czechia movement, Martin Kuba, said on the TV programme Za pět minut dvanáct (Five Minutes to Midnight) that Czechs will have to accept that pensions will not remain at their current high level in the future. According to him, the state needs to reform the pension system so that it delivers better returns on the money people set aside for retirement, since the number of pensioners will keep growing — and with it, the funds needed to pay them.

South Moravian Governor and KDU-ČSL chairman Jan Grolich shares a similar view. In his opinion, any new government will be forced to carry out reforms, including tax reforms. "The state will have to find a way to pay for this," Kuba agreed.

A dispute over taxes and funding for regions

Both politicians agreed that Czechia needs to overhaul its tax system entirely. Kuba proposed taxing property more heavily, noting that the taxation of labour is already high enough.

In this context, Grolich criticised former Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS), under whom, he said, the country never managed to change how collected taxes are divided among the state, regions and municipalities. He called this a "stitch-up" and said he has been raising the issue for six years already: in his view, the current system is unfair and fails to account for things like population growth in a region or a region handing over roads to the state.

Presidential veto overridden

The two politicians also disagreed over the amendment to budget rules that the ruling coalition of ANO, SPD and the Motorists pushed through parliament this week. After two days of debate, the Chamber of Deputies overrode President Petr Pavel's veto — the amendment removes several restrictions on the growth of government spending and rising debt.

"I would understand this debate if we were talking about a deficit of 280 billion crowns. But the government is heading towards a deficit of 400 billion," Grolich said. Opposition parties intend to challenge the amendment at the Constitutional Court, and Grolich sees it as significant that they managed to unite for this purpose.

Kuba, for his part, declined to speculate on the court's ruling, stressing its independence. He did not criticise the filing of the complaint itself, but noted that, in his observation, politicians are increasingly offloading disputes onto the courts that could be resolved through more sensible communication.

Grolich's plans for the Senate

Jan Grolich hopes to win a seat in parliament following the current elections. "I'm counting on getting into the Senate — I'm running in this election to win," he said, adding that he is standing so that opposition parties don't lose their mandates. He considers this year's Senate election crucial, since the opposition wants to keep its majority in the upper house. According to him, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) is taking a greater interest in the Senate election this time than before.

Governor Kuba, meanwhile, intends to form his own Senate caucus, which requires a minimum of five senators. He noted that independent senators, who often later join one caucus or another, could help make up the numbers, since they don't always have the same party loyalty as deputies. Kuba admitted that his Our Czechia movement is entering this election "with the modesty of a newcomer" — it currently holds two Senate seats.

Local and Senate elections in Czechia will take place on Friday, 9 October, and Saturday, 10 October.

Source: novinky.cz