German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek on 20th anniversary of the 'German-Czech Declaration on Mutual Relations and their Future Development', January 2017.Ralf Hirschberger/Press Association. All rights reserved. A recent interview with Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek has caused controversy and laid bare the parlous state of foreign policy in the country. He lashed out at the European Commission and European Parliament, advocated restrictions on free movement, sympathised with Brexiteers and refused to accept that the Czech Republic should shelter refugees.
Zaoralek has previously expressed strong support for the EU and claims to have been misquoted, but his record in office speaks for itself and tells the same, negative story as the interview: unimaginative and small minded on major policy issues, uncooperative with European institutions and key partners, as well as irresponsible with regard to EU and Schengen membership. The interview and the wider foreign policy context in the Czech Republic not only show the dangerous slide of the governing Social Democrats (CSSD) into nationalist populism but also the recklessly self-serving and narrow minded attitude of much of the current Czech political elite. The newer, more closed stance mimics the responses of some other social democratic parties across Europe.
The stance on refugees is depressingly familiar, but Prague has previously supported free movement in principle, if not to the extent of actually sharing the burdens as well as the benefits of Schengen membership. The newer, more closed stance mimics the responses of some other social democratic parties across Europe but also the more social nationalist leanings of other Visegrad Four (V4) governments.
