Jan Grolich: I'm in politics to work everything off

You have been the governor of the South Moravian Region for many years. What experience have you gained from this work?

That people don't care who has what position. They care about whether the bus arrives, whether the road gets repaired, whether the hospital works and whether their municipality can develop. And I've also learned that you can't solve a lot of things with one decision from your desk. You have to talk to people, mayors and experts, and then simply start working. And sometimes unfortunately you can't arrange everything right away. But that's why I'm in politics - to work through it.

What are your priorities after being elected chairman of KDU-ČSL in April?

My goal is to prove once again that the Christian Democrats are a good brand. That we have firm and clear values and that it makes sense to stand up for them. But for this, I needed to know that I would have the space to really change the party – and KDU-ČSL gave me that. We have a completely new presidium, we've rejuvenated the leadership, reorganized the party, rebranded it, and most importantly, simplified its functioning. We've eliminated unnecessary meetings and we're trying to operate more modern, faster, and more efficiently. I want KDU-ČSL to be attractive not only to our traditional voters, but also to people who perhaps haven't voted for us in a long time or haven't considered us at all. And the first results, in my opinion, show that it's working. Since the congress, we have almost 300 new people interested in membership. People are sending us money and supporting us. These are important signals to me that the change we've started makes sense. My political ambition is to make the Christian Democrats once again a self-confident and strong party that has its firm place on the Czech political scene. A party that knows what it wants, stands by its values, and is able to promote them. And also a party that has a sufficiently strong mandate to be a respected and self-confident negotiating partner when forming the future government.

How do you view the current government's steps? For example, in the area of the national budget proposal or the financing of regional road repairs?

In my opinion, this is a very unfortunate chapter. The government proposed a deficit of 389 billion crowns. That's simply excessive and irresponsible. When the economy is growing, it's really not normal to run such a high deficit. And most importantly – I don't think anyone went into the elections wanting to keep indebting the state like this. Not even voters of ANO, SPD or the Motorists. The government promised savings and more balanced budgets before the elections. Now we hear that 389 billion has no alternative. That's simply not true. That's also why we initiated the current extraordinary session and vote of no confidence in the government and launched the campaign "This isn't what we wanted". The state cannot function like this long-term. We need to say what our priorities are, what is an investment and what is just reckless and irresponsible spending. And most importantly, we need a plan for how we'll start curbing that debt. Because one day someone will have to pay for it.

From the position of regional governor, I am also sensitive to how the state approaches regions. We have long been saying that the distribution of money among regions is not fair. In South Moravia, we see this every day. For example, with second and third class roads. Regions are responsible for them, but the state does not give them a system in which they would know exactly what money they can count on. In the past, we tried to push for money for regional roads to be firmly part of the tax allocation system. We did not succeed. And then every year we deal with whether the state will send something. And this year, for example, it is absolutely zero.

Why are you running for the Senate now?

Why right now? I could joke that I'm finally old enough for it. The Senate is for me a safeguard of democracy and I have enormous respect for it. Being a senator for the

Vyškov region makes sense to me because this is my home. I've known this region since childhood, I grew up here, for ten years as mayor in Velatice I dealt with the everyday problems of a small municipality, and as governor for the past six years I've had on my desk topics that concern the entire region. In national politics, rules are written that affect specific people in our region too - and I would like to be part of this process and help as much as possible to ensure that laws are written meaningfully and that, thanks to them, people live well here.

What do you see as the greatest role of the Senate?

The Senate should be a safeguard ensuring that laws make sense, are well thought out, and will truly help specific people. It is not a second Chamber of Deputies and certainly not a place for political theatre. It should review, correct and monitor laws. That's where I see the advantage of my experience in municipal politics, knowing how much damage an unfinished or poorly written law can cause.

Why do you think people should go to the polls?

Because we all have responsibility for the place where we live, whether we want it or not. Politics is ultimately not about us - about politicians, but about people who, by whom they give their vote to, decide what politics will look like right in their own home. In the place they care for, where they live, where they raise their children, go to work, take care of their parents, in the place where they would like to grow old themselves. This privilege - to decide whom I will trust to have good intentions for my home, we should not let be taken away from us.

Jan Grolich has been the governor of the South Moravian Region since 2020. In April this year, he became the chairman of KDU-ČSL. Since 2010, he has also been a councillor of the municipality of Velatice in the Brno-venkov district. Between 2010 and 2020, he was the mayor of Velatice.

Sources: author's interview, Wikipedia