“I Have a Very Strong Mandate from Voters,” Says Turek: Talks About Presidential Candidacy

President Petr Pavel continues to refuse to appoint Filip Turek, honorary president of the Motorists party, as Minister of the Environment. Therefore, Turek is expected to operate at the ministry as a government envoy for the Green Deal. However, even this role raises a number of questions. How does Filip Turek envision his future? Does he stand by his statements about Ukraine? And does he regret meeting Machmud Muradov? These questions were posed to him on the TV program Za pět minut dvanáct (“Five Minutes to Twelve”) by host Martin Čermák.

“I, as a public figure, have gone through two elections and have always received a very strong mandate from voters. We simply need to fulfill the voters’ desire to appoint me to this position,” says Filip Turek about his effort to take the helm of the Ministry of the Environment. He rejects the idea that he wants any position at all costs. “If I were doing these things just for positions, I would have stayed in the European Parliament, where the money was really much higher,” he said.

Turek could theoretically supplement his parliamentary salary with the remuneration for his role as envoy for the Green Deal, though he claims that money is not his motivation. “The envoy position could theoretically be paid, and there are many ways to pay someone working there, but it really isn’t a motivation for me,” he said.

“It’s just a technicality I’m not really concerned with—I want to do it for free,” he continued. “I will provide recommendations and produce expert assessments,” he explained regarding his vision for the role.

Not Considering the Presidency

The host also asked Turek about higher ambitions. Public speculation has suggested that he might run for president in the next election. Turek dismissed this, citing a lack of the necessary political experience.

“It’s very interesting that so many people highlight it, but it is certainly not something I am thinking about. I believe the president of the republic should be a more senior political role, and if the president does not have a longer political history, it can result in situations where, for example, the Constitution is somewhat bent, which I regret,” he said.

Does Not Regret Statements on Ukraine or Meeting Muradov

The discussion also turned to Turek’s meeting with fighter Machmud Muradov, whose temporary residence permit in the Czech Republic was revoked by the court due to alleged ties to organized crime. Turek does not see a problem with this. “He is simply a person involved in a sport that I follow. To me, he is a very capable individual,” he said. He reportedly did not ask about any issues with the authorities. “I would probably attend such a meeting again without hesitation,” he added, calling Muradov a pleasant person.

Turek also stands by his statement that one of the reasons for the war in Ukraine is NATO expansion. He says he does not understand why this caused such an uproar.

“Angela Merkel thought so, John Mearsheimer, one of the greatest international relations theorists, thought so, and Henry Kissinger thought so when he was still alive,” he argued. “Certainly, this is aggression on Russia’s part, and I absolutely agree with that, but everything has some origin,” he added. Later, however, he called Russian demands to restore NATO borders to their 1997 status ridiculous.

Turek also reiterated that he disagrees with the arguments President Pavel uses to justify not appointing him to the ministerial office. He describes the controversies surrounding him as old, fabricated, or misunderstood dark humor. He clearly rejected claims that he ever performed the Nazi salute or that he is xenophobic, homophobic, or a Nazi.

However, he acknowledged that his remark, “So I don’t give you a Nazi salute in your face,” directed at a critic on Národní třída in Prague, was a mistake. “I said that the foreign minister should not behave this way. That’s why we accommodated the president by agreeing to swap the portfolios with Petr Macinka (chairman of the Motorists),” he added.

Source: TN CZ