Jan Lacina: I would like to repeat the result from the last elections, when I was the 12th best out of five thousand candidates.
He entered politics because of Miloš Zeman, he is also running this year so that we don't find ourselves in the normalization mud in the middle of an Asian circus, as he claims. In the interview, he explains that the public will get heated up for the elections only three weeks or a month before D day and will start to be hungry for information. He knows what he is talking about, in the past he went through and managed a number of municipal, regional and parliamentary campaigns.
Why did you decide to go into politics in the first place?
Maybe it had been brewing in my head for a long time. But the initial impulse I remember was Miloš Zeman's victory over Karel Schwarzenberg in the presidential election in 2013. Miloš Zeman was lying throughout the campaign, and I decided that we couldn't leave our country to people like him. So I ran for office for the first time at the age of 44, but I immediately became the deputy mayor of Prague 6 and eight years later I was a member of parliament, vice-chairman of the club and also vice-chairman of the governing party. However, I should mention that I have been in the public sphere for 35 years: first as a journalist, later as a television producer, screenwriter and director, and also the operator of many popular Prague cafes. So I had accumulated extraordinary social capital, which I still work with today.
What have you managed to accomplish as a deputy in the Parliament during the past election period?
My number one topic was increasing the independence of public service media - Czech Television and Czech Radio, and above all, setting up their sustainably financing. Both were successful thanks to the small and large media amendment, although as a parliamentary primary mover of the issue, I didn't have "our" minister in the government, but rather a SPOLU coalition partner representative, Minister Baxa. We also managed to significantly improve conditions for the audiovisual industry, transform the State Film Fund to the State Audiovisual Fund, increase incentives for foreign productions and for the first time in history, support the development of video games, i.e. gaming, in which we are a covert power. It would be a mistake not to secure and support this industry. And, as the cherry on the cake, together with Professor Balash, at the last minute, we managed to get a dramatic reduction in penalties for domestic cannabis cultivation into the new criminal code, something experts had been waiting for, without exaggeration, for several decades. From this perspective, I consider my four-year tenure in the Chamber of Deputies to be extremely effective. And despite the very oppressive atmosphere, we among the Prague deputies of Starostové, created a particularly favourable microclimate, so in the end, it managed to survive quite well.
At the same time, you are a councillor in Prague 6. How can you combine these two roles?
I must emphasize that even before the last parliamentary elections, I switched to the mode of a "non-released councilor". I give about two days a week to culture, sport, and security, just as before, because in the past period I was responsible for a large agenda of property policy in Prague 6, which mainly occupied me and which I handed over to my colleagues. I set up a system of support for culture and sport at the town hall in 2015 and I think it works absolutely above standard. Ask key actors. My typical weekend in September usually looks like this: Saturday morning Farmer's markets at Kulaťák, then the opening of an exhibition about Jiří Menzel at the Písecká gate in Hradčany, the start of the Opera in Šárka and in the evening on Štvanice for techno on Comics. On Sunday during the day, the Tournament of Kings in Max van der Stoel park and in the evening a meeting of the club of representatives, which I chair. I live a public life.
How different is national and municipal politics in your opinion?
Municipal politics at the level of a hundred-thousand city district, such as Prague 6, is definitely more diverse and fun. We organize a lot of events, which I personally participate in, and some, like the Embassy Festival, I personally launched. In addition, of course, we deal with large strategic projects, such as the indoor swimming pool in Petynka, a large culture centre in the 4th quadrant of Victorious Square, a new Long-term Sick Treatment Centre in Ruzyně, a new Polyclinic building in Břevnov, completion of kindergartens and schools and of course transportation projects, such as the completion of the Prague ring road, or railway connection between the Main Station, Václav Havel Airport and the northwest surroundings of the capital city, which we also have a say in, as tens of thousands of people commute through us daily to Prague. In municipal politics, people see the work done and "get to know you up close", so this position has a big weight for me. Also in the municipality, no party would dare to place its most respected politician anywhere other than at the top of the candidate list, because everyone would think they are crazy. National politics is more impersonal and certainly less fun in its daily run, but it shows a high degree of relevance. I gradually found myself in both areas. I have respect for them. And I can serve not only as a city representative, but also as a deputy from January 1, 2024.
What are your topics and why are you even going into this year's elections?
With my traditional topics, because I want life in this country to be safe, free and thus good. Therefore, defense of democratic development and state institutions, support for the independence of public service media and free media in general. Support for culture and sports in all their forms. And the adoption of the euro as an anchor to the West. I think that's enough for one person.
How do you evaluate the current pre-election campaign?
I perceived the summer as capricious, trimmed by a bizarre Bitcoin case. Because I have been through a number of municipal, regional, and parliamentary campaigns and I personally managed most of them, I know that the audience warms up to the elections three weeks to a month before D day and only then does it begin to be hungry for information. Until then it is a bit like throwing peas at the wall. In other words, in the summer I was posting short videos on the network about places I like the most in Prague or I consider them remarkable, and I was saving energy for the finish on the street.
If you were unsuccessful in this year's election, could you imagine going back to the job you used to do?
If I didn't get into the Chamber of Deputies, I would turn my attention to the other roles I'm currently performing. Primarily, definitely to Prague 6, because managing the town hall and the city district here is simply a joy. But because I am a political scientist and media strategist by education, and I'm able to calculate and predict, I think that won't happen this year. On the contrary, I would like to repeat my personal result from the previous elections, in which I exceeded 26 thousand preferential votes and out of 5 thousand candidates for the Chamber, I was the 12th best.
Why do you think people should go to the polls this year?
The answer to that is very simple and understandable: Because in what we choose, we will have to live for another four years and perhaps even longer. And I would not like to find myself this year in the normalization mud in the middle of the Asian circus.
Sources: original text, interview
