In the past week, the Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř joined the confrontational style of the chairman of the Motorists, Petr Macinka, and his political cousin Filip Turk. At the same time, little was enough, and much could be saved in his relationship with the artistic community. However, when he left an empty chair prepared for him by the organizers of the discussion in Prague’s Palace Theater on Monday, he sealed the mutual split. The subsequent visit of the moderators Aleš Cibulka and Michal Jagelka to the ministry on Tuesday was just icing on the cake.
After a series of political ministers who led the culture during the last two governments, Klempíř could represent a return to the days when the resort was managed by people from kumšt. There were quite a few of them (playwright Uhde, writer Tigrid, actors Stropnický, Jandák and Štěpánek, musician Riedlbauch, theater actor Dostál), not all of them enjoyed the same popularity, but they had a connection to the artistic environment and there was elementary trust between them and him. That’s over with Klempíř, and as it seems, relations will go to the edge of a knife.
It is a fact that the cultural community did not welcome the new minister with enthusiasm right from the start. In October, a signature action of artists, cultural workers, students and teachers was raised against the intention to hand over the resort to the Motorists. Suspecting that the dark side is as much a boon to culture as it is to the environment. Vigilance was also heightened by Klempíř’s past as a State Security whistleblower before November.
Nevertheless, the minister could still argue that he is not alone in local politics with totalitarianism and that the most important of all is the program that his party has prepared for the field of art. He is full of high-flying ideas. It talks about a free and strong culture with stable funding, where artists will have higher salaries and visitors will have affordable experiences. The Motorists also added the maximum independence of public media to their priorities.
But a few weeks after the government won the confidence of the House of Representatives, the program promises are seriously crumbling. In the newly approved budget for this year, the department’s chapter is cut, and the public media is currently rebelling against the government’s intention to abolish concession fees as a guarantee of independence.
That Klempíř refused to participate in a discussion with actors who criticized the chairman of the party for which he sits in the government at the demonstration is cowardly. However, it is inexcusable that he himself did not start the debate about the planned fundamental changes. He himself is said to have four possible proposals for financing public media, and an interdepartmental commission is working on others, but everything takes place in secret. Instead, he supplies the public with photos from a warm meeting with Slovakian minister Martina Šimkovičová, who is a shining threat to free culture.
Motoring leaders have been the grateful targets of viral humor lately. Creators most often take aim at their inflated egos. This is not how previous influencers imagined their popularity. Now they will want to rule by evil.
date:2026-02-15 07:00:00
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