Rozhovor Britských listů 355. Je naše nynější krize způsobena zvyklostmi z Rakouska-Uherska? [Britské listy Interview 355. Has our crisis been caused by habits surviving from the times of Austria-Hungary?]

English subtitles. The political attitudes of the so call "Visegrad group" of the Central European countries (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic) are not particularly constructive. The EU is threatening to stop its subsidies to Poland and Hungary for destabilising the rule of law, Czech PM Babiš is being investigated by the EU for a conflict of interest. Around 1900, Central Europe was a source of highly stimulating ideas, culturally as well as politically. This was due to the mixing of cultures. Then, however, Austria-Hungary was dismembered. This was a serious problem for Central Europe. It was occupied by the German Nazis, then by Soviet communists. Central Europe is a geopolitically weak place. The CE countries can defendthemselves against the great powers of Germany and Russia only if they cooperate, but they are unable to do this. The Central European countries have adopted authoritarianism, red tape, weakness of politicians and the politicians' disinterest in the individual citizens from Austria-Hungary. In this Britské listy Interview, Jan Čulík talks about these themes with Professor Jiří Pehe, Czech political scientists and the Director of the Prague branch of New York University. The interview was broadcast by the Czech cable TV station Regionalnitelevize.cz from 20th January 2020