Czech Republic: How many foreign policies?

Both the unusual structure of the new Czech government and the fact the chairman of the strongest opposition party is the speaker of the parliament's lower chamber have caused a degree of confusion as to how many sources of Czech foreign policy there are at present. Under normal circumstances, the minister of foreign affairs is principally responsible for formulating and conducting foreign policy. Under the constitution, the president is also one of the foreign policy makers, as the Constitution says he, among other things, represents the country abroad. The prime minister, of course, also contributes to foreign policy making and, under normal circumstances, occasionally represents the country abroad.

Between 1992 and 1996 Czech foreign policy was formulated and conducted by the president, the foreign minister, and the prime minister. There were occasional differences between the three politicians. President Havel and Prime Minster Klaus, in particular, did not always agree on what the direction of Czech foreign policy should be. They differed in particular in their views of the European Union, war in Bosnia, and dealing with human right issues. However, in most cases they were able to find a common language.

The elections in 1996 ushered in a new era in Czech foreign policy. Differences over foreign policy continued to exist between Klaus and Havel. However, the Klaus-led coalition was able to form a minority government only in exchange for giving Social Democratic Party (CSSD) Chairman Milos Zeman the post of the parliament's lower chamber. Moreover, the upper chamber of the parliament (the Senate) was created at the beginning of 1997. Both Zeman and Senate Chairman Petr Pithart occasionally ventured into foreign policy making, in particular during their trips abroad. There was often little or no coordination of foreign policy efforts between Zeman, in particular, and the government. During his first trips abroad in the post of the lower chamber chairman, Zeman frequently failed to separate his party foreign policy priorities from those of the official foreign policy objectives of the country.

The CSSD government formed after the June 1998 elections has not managed to streamline the process of foreign policy making. Prime Minister Zeman decided to create the position of Deputy Prime Minister responsible for coordinating foreign and security policies. Egon Lansky, who was named into the post, and Foreign Minister Jan Kavan are still searching for a formula under which they would satisfactorily divide their responsibilities. Lansky is to be primarily responsible for coordinating Czech efforts to join the European Union. And he will travel in place of Zeman on trips abroad, as Zeman freely admits his dislike for foreign trips. However, Zeman will have to travel abroad from time to time, for example, to visit important EU summits. Given his appetite for making ironic statements, he is certain to provoke more foreign policy controversies.

Zeman has not been able to refrain completely from commenting on foreign policy issues even back at home. His recent statements in which he compared Sudeten Germans to Czech Communists and Republicans, caused uproar in Germany. Both Lansky and Kavan were then trying for weeks to repair the damage to Czech-German relations caused by their boss. In the end, it was President Havel whose statement on the growing controversy calmed things down.

Under a post-election agreement between the CSSD and the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) of Vaclav Klaus, Klaus has become the chairman of the parliament's lower chamber. It is difficult to imagine that Klaus, who is known for having strong opinions, would completely refrain from commenting on foreign policy issues. Therefore, Czech foreign policy will have even more disparate sources than in the past: the foreign minister, the deputy prime minister responsible for foreign and security policies, the prime minister, the chairman of the lower chamber, and the president.

Unless Czech foreign policy is to become incomprehensible, it needs to be coordinated. At this point, however, the president, the government, and the chairman of the parliament's lower chamber do not seem to have a common language. It is possible that the ODS and the CSSD will come up with a solution to possible foreign policy differences between the government and the chairman of the parliament's lower chamber in the framework of the "opposition contract" they signed after the elections. But even if they do, the CSSD still needs to decide who exactly formulates its government's foreign policy. If a solution is not found quickly, there is a danger that the growing dissonance in Czech foreign policy could start hampering the Czech Republic's efforts to join the EU.

Reuters - 20. 8. 1998