An interview with Ladislav Jakl, an aide to the Czech ex-president Klaus
Mr Jakl, let us talk about two important events. The first one was October 28th, an anniversary of the 1918 birth of the independent Czechoslovakia when the primary goal should be to remember that event, not just to hand out some awards. How do you view this special day and should the medals have been picked in person, as in previous years? Or is it right that the president has postponed this ritual?
Your question seems to imply that you have embraced the delusion, like a substantial part of the Czech journalists did, that the essential event that takes place at the Prague Castle on every October 28th is the Ceremony of Handing Out the State Awards or something like that. But don't despair: the current president Miloš Zeman has succumbed to the same delusion. So I would like to clarify these matters: the medals aren't the main focus of the holiday event at all. It is the Ceremonial Assembly Marking the National Holiday – the Day of the Republic. Something like the State of the Union address which they have in the U.S. The most important presidential speech in every year. The most important message of the head of the state to his nation. A speech exposing the balance sheet and evaluating the recent 365 days, proposing the president's views about the essential societal problems, his opinions about the main topics that are hot in the country, answers to questions that haven't been posed and a response to the public's worries. A speech where the president tries to capture the vital societal and political trends, expose the international context, attempt to redefine the idea on which the country was built, as shaped by the ongoing civilizational and cultural shifts and movements.