VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPG #0284/01 0761602
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171602Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7105
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000284 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EZ
SUBJECT: CZECH GREENS: A REFRESHING CHANGE FROM THE 
POLITICS OF SMOKE-FILLED ROOMS 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. In recent weeks the Czech Green Party has, 
for the first time ever, jumped above 5% in opinion polls, 
indicating that the party could enter parliament in the June 
2-3 general election.  A fifth party in the new parliament 
would change the calculations for the forming a new 
government.  The Greens have ruled out cooperation with the 
Communists, but are otherwise willing to work with any 
mainstream parties.  The Czech Greens occupy a more centrist 
position that many other European Greens; in addition to 
opposition to nuclear power, their signature campaign 
platform will be support for good governance and 
transparency.  They are not likely to make foreign policy a 
significant element of their campaign.  End Summary 
 
¶2. (U) Although the Czech Greens were founded in 1990, they 
have not yet played much of a role in Czech politics.  They 
received 2.4% of votes in the 2002 parliamentary elections, 
their best ever showing, and do have one member, Jaromir 
Stetina, in the Senate, as well as many officials at the 
local level. But too often the party has chosen activists 
rather than administrators for leadership positions.  The 
result was a series of bickering unprofessional politicians 
that never succeeded in pulling the party into the big 
leagues.  That changed with the appointment of Martin Bursik 
as party chair in September, 2005.  Bursik, who is a former 
Minister of the Environment, has brought discipline, 
confidence, and gravitas and the party is being taken more 
seriously than ever before. 
 
WARM FEELINGS FOR THE U.S. 
 
¶3. (U) Acting DCM and Poloff met March 15 with Petr Stepanek, 
Green,s Deputy Chair and currently a Prague city councilman; 
Stepanek nominally has responsibility for foreign affairs, 
although he spent most of our conversation on other matters. 
Stepanek, who arrived at the restaurant by bicycle (a rare 
feat in Prague in winter), insisted on paying for his own 
lunch, immediately setting himself apart from the typical 
Czech politician.  Bursik and Stepanek both have ties to the 
United States.  Bursik went to the U.S. in 1990 on a USAID 
grant to work in the offices of Representative Jim McDermott, 
from the 7th District in Washington State (Seattle and 
Sea-Tac); Bursik has previously told the Embassy the 
experience changed his life. Bursik's mother was a translator 
who used to do contract work for the US Embassy. Stepanek is 
married to an American, travels there regularly to visit his 
in-laws, and knows the U.S. and its politics extremely well. 
Among other freelance work, Stepanek works as an advisor on 
USAID-funded local governance projects in Macedonia and 
Montenegro. 
 
DOES GREEN GO BETTER WITH BLUE OR ORANGE? 
 
¶4. (SBU) The most pressing question for the Greens right now 
is whether to support an ODS-led government under the blue 
banner, or a CSSD administration under the orange. Bursik is 
publicly refusing to choose sides, preferring instead to 
publish the party,s program and offer himself to whichever 
partner supports the greater share of his party,s policies. 
Stepanek told us the Greens will not deal with any government 
that includes, or is supported by, the Communists, but is 
otherwise ready to work with either ODS or CSSD.  He also 
indicated the Greens could support a minority government (of 
either CSSD or ODS), and would be prepared to use the annual 
budget vote as a way of making sure that their program 
priorities are supported. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Asked which priorities the Greens will put on the 
table if/when they enter into coalition negotiations, 
Stepanek offered a list that generally defies ideological 
categorization. One of their main themes is clean governance. 
They want to eliminate the current lifelong immunity enjoyed 
by parliamentarians, prevent immediate relatives of state 
officials from holding positions in state-run firms, and 
establish more extensive asset disclosure regulations. They 
would also like to see direct popular elections of mayors, 
provincial governors, and the president. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Bursik explained that the Greens are not an 
ideological force.  He says the party sees specific problems 
and proposes solutions.  They would, for example, promote 
greater assistance for the handicapped, the regulation of 
prostitution, an end to entrance exams for middle and high 
school, and a ban on tractor-trailer trucks on highways over 
the weekend.  Either CSSD or ODS could address some of these 
problems without alienating core constituencies.  So it 
should not be assumed that the Greens will look to the 
left-of-center Social Democrats as the only potential partner. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Of course, energy policy will be a central campaign 
 
theme.  The Czech Republic gets approximately 35% of its 
electricity from two nuclear plants, at Dukovany and Temelin, 
near its southern border with Austria. The main political 
parties have all expressed an interest in adding two more 
reactors to the existing plant at Temelin, a position that is 
likely to gain popular support as concerns grow about energy 
security. However, the Principal Deputy Chair of the Greens, 
Dana Kuchtova, is a founding member of the anti-nuclear NGO, 
Mothers Against Temelin, and has stated on televised campaign 
events that the Greens are not only against expanding 
Temelin, but would also like to end the use of nuclear power 
altogether.  Stepanek admitted that the nuclear position 
would be a tough part of any coalition negotiations, but did 
not believe it would be an insurmountable barrier.  He 
expected there would be much more agreement on the question 
of increasing reliance on alternative technologies. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Stepanek said foreign policy would not be a priority 
for the Greens.  Asked about support for NATO, he said the 
Greens (like both ODS and CSSD) readily acknowledge NATO as 
the basis for the nation's defense.  The Greens are strongly 
pro-EU, a stance that could create problem in cooperation 
with ODS (Stepanek pointed to the ODS support for a flat tax 
as another stumbling block).  The Greens would push for 
foreign policies that support sustainable development.  But 
generally, Stepanek saw few areas of disagreement with 
current Czech foreign policy. 
 
CAN YOU BELIEVE THE POLLS? 
 
¶9. (SBU) The party,s detractors argue that the Greens 
probably will not make it to parliament, and even if they do, 
they will have trouble finding willing coalition partners. 
Marek Benda, a former student leader and current 
parliamentarian with ODS, told the Embassy he thought the 
Greens were, with the exception of Bursik and a few others, 
&a bunch of idiots.8  Benda labeled some party members as 
&activists, Troskyites and hippies,8 and argued that no 
serious party would want to form a partnership with such 
people.  He said the Greens were, &unacceptable partners.8 
 
¶10. (SBU) Other skeptics compare the Green's current polling 
success (over 9% support in a poll released on March 17) with 
that of the Retired Peoples' Party in 2002.  That party saw a 
dramatic surge to 11% just before the elections, but finished 
under 2% and went into obscurity. Stepanek rejects the 
comparison, pointing out that the Greens have are an 
established party (founded even before ODS) and have for 
years been successfully fielding candidates in local 
elections.  He argues that the Greens are a legitimate party 
with a full election program and not just some hodge-podge of 
extraparliamentary movements cobbled together just before an 
election in the hope of attracting 5% of the electorate. 
Others note that the party has the support of former 
President Vaclav Havel. 
 
A BREATH OF FRESH AIR 
 
¶11. (SBU) COMMENT:  Czech voters have traditionally seemed to 
prefer a fifth party in parliament beyond the "big four" 
(CSSD, ODS, Communists, and Christian Democrats).  The 
liberal Freedom Union (US-DEU) currently fills that role, but 
is not expected to cross the 5% threshold.  Continuing 
personality divisions among the small liberal parties seem 
likely to prevent the emergence of a viable liberal 
alternative this year, lending support to the conclusion that 
the Greens will be the beneficiary of protest votes.  If the 
Greens do make it to parliament and into government, we do 
not, at this point, expect them to insist on policy measures 
that will, on balance, harm U.S. interests.  In fact, their 
passion for transparency and ethics could provide a 
much-needed breath of fresh air in Czech politics. 
CABANISS