Monday, November 17, 1997
Head of state speaks about challenges of Czech nation
POLITICS:
Prime minister discusses difficulties
of economic transitionBy Katie Sierra
Daily Bruin Contributor
Václav Klaus remains optimistic in the face of the economic
and political challenges that currently face his country, he
explained Friday at the Anderson School.
But the prime minister of the Czech Republic came to UCLA to
share more than his views on economic policies, as his speech
reflected.
In his talk, Klaus pleaded for an expansion of NATO and
discussed the economic history of the Czech Republic in detail.
"The accession to NATO represents an historic step," he said.
"It would be the symbolic moment that would tell us that the past
is definitely over, and that we belong again to the community of
free Western countries," Klaus said.
Klaus has been touring many different college campuses in the
United States.
Since the fall of communism, the Czech Republic has dedicated
itself to converting their socialist economy to a market economy.
The transition has been relatively successful, but in the last
year, the new economy has started to decline.
Klaus said the most prominent problem is that Czech citizens
believe their wages are insufficient in comparison to their
European counterparts.
"The citizens of the former Communist countries have the feeling
that they deserve more," Klaus said.
Klaus explained that a smooth transition from a socialist
economy to a market economy was virtually impossible.
"There were dreams about the possibility of a smooth or more
linear evolution of the system. I must say that such utopian dreams
were impossible to fulfill," Klaus said.
Klaus’ speech was open to the general public and many of the
audience members were people of Czech descent who supported Klaus’
agenda.
Jarmila Segert, 71, a former Czech citizen, believes that the
key to recovering the Czech economy lies in the citizens of that
country.
"I am optimistic because I know the Czechs can work if they all
wish to. They are good workers and have a keen interest in material
well being," Segert said.
Another attendee, Jaroslava Wilcox, a physicist at NASA,
believes that the Czech economy is open to changes.
"The prime minister has tried to do his best. Economics is not
an exact science like physics is. Often it’s a go by trial method
and you just go," Wilcox said.
Klaus continues to remain optimistic about the future of his
country, and admits that the answers to their economic problems are
not always visible.
"The problem is clear, the solution not," Klaus said.