Six years ago, when he was in his prime, the then-ski jumper Jakub Janda (ODS) exchanged a career in sports for one in politics. At that time, the people catapulted him into the Chamber with their votes, and he defended his seat two years ago. He focuses on sports topics even in the Chamber. But the issue of gender is another major subject for him.
Your party, or rather the ruling coalition, has a pretty easy job essentially – a 108 majority in the Chamber as well as a majority in the Senate. But doesn’t that also entail more responsibility because without reaching an agreement with the opposition, you’re truly one hundred percent responsible for everything you implement?
You are absolutely right about the responsibility part. Even more so at a time like this when we’re forced to make numerous crucial and difficult decisions, such as the one on the current austerity package. Nevertheless, we’re a very diverse coalition in terms of numbers and opinions; it’s not a monolith that agrees on every single point. And I also don't see us having an easy job when it comes to working with the opposition. The level of filibustering and unwillingness to reach even the most fundamental consensus has increased immensely here in the Chamber in recent times. Just look at the number of hours spent in late-night meetings, the endless speeches given by the opposition’s representatives without any relation to the matters being discussed... Coincidentally, this is not only pointless and tiresome, but also financially draining because the cost of running the Chamber is non-negligible. But when it comes to racking up easy political points, common sense goes out the window.
In the last interview for our magazine, you said,"I also like dealing with gender-related topics, I am a member of the Standing Commission on Family Issues and Equal Opportunities. Some activists are not big fans of mine due to my conservative views, but we all have our opinions." What kind of views did you have in mind?
It is primarily my opinion on funding. I’m rather strict when it comes to this topic because I feel that taxpayer money absolutely shouldn’t be used to fund parades and events reminiscent of carnivals, purchase furniture or device chargers for the offices of dubious non-profit organizations whose primary scope of work is the publishing of pamphlets about the feminization of poverty. And that’s not something I just came up with but rather something that you can find in the closing reports of previously funded projects. However, the whole issue lies more with the overall attitude and the ecosystem that specific activists are nurturing through the gender issue. I’ve never been a fan of ideological or fanatical views. I hated this even back when I was doing sports, and let’s be honest, it was a pure propaganda vehicle back in the days of socialism. When dealing with the issue of gender, you do inevitably come into contact with people holding just such views, unfortunately. These people are then pushing their own agenda by way of the various gender platforms, and their goals are nothing other than changing the established system and bringing about some sort of new cultural revolution. But, to be fair, we did often have very sensible negotiations with representatives of this trend who held different – often even completely opposite – views, but the discussion with them was civil. That’s the crux of public discourse, the crux of democracy. And those who aren’t interested in discourse cannot be helped.
And how do you feel about current trends such as the marriage and parenthood of same-sex couples?
As for current trends, I’m seeing two defining tendencies. One is the reinforcement of, let’s say, civil rights. This usually means the improvement of rights for same-sex couples in daily life – meaning things such as inheritance, right to medical information, custody of children after the death of a partner, etc. That is a sensible discussion. I have no issue with these efforts. I’ve been trying to make life easier for people throughout my whole tenure in politics and this is an excellent example of that. But then we have the ideological eccentricities. Marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. Period. We have cultural and historical traditions, deeply-rooted values, social customs, and we mustn’t forget that marriage is also a legal concept meant to protect children. To sum up: there is no reason to not change some legal aspects that complicate the lives of same-sex couples. And maybe even find a different name for this type of union if registered partnership sounds “inhumane”. The substance is more important, however.
And what about the mandatory quotas for equal gender representation in various positions?
As far as quotas go, I’m rather skeptical as to their usefulness. Naturally, it's not right when there’s an obvious case of discrimination somewhere. But artificial quotas are ultimately not only ineffective but also a little degrading to those they should be helping. Politics is a perfect example, especially on the municipal level. I have personally participated four times in the drafting of the election ticket in our city. Finding enough women who even want to get into politics is an issue. A major one.
A few months ago, you mentioned on your Facebook page that you conducted a thorough analysis of the funding of gender-focused non-profit organizations. How did it turn out?
My team and I spent months thoroughly investigating the financial flows from the national budget into gender non-profits, and it was not an easy task, let me tell you that. Annual reports published by funding beneficiaries aren’t very detailed; I have no idea what these non-profits are trying to hide. And some of them receive annual state funding in the millions! Step by step, year after year, we uncovered which specific non-profit organizations receive funding from public finances and to what extent. Sadly, the result was not surprising – non-profits were receiving essentially the same amount the whole time. So those who know "what's what" can get their hands on pretty decent money. There would be nothing wrong with that, however, if we knew the specific results they achieve with the money they get from public finances. Unfortunately, we often don’t know that and so the money is just disappearing.
What kind of amounts are we talking about here?
The national budget expends nearly 200 million CZK annually to fund the activities of gender non-profits. If we add to that the expenses from the budget of the European Commission, the total comes up to about 1.5 billion CZK. That’s a decent amount. I can’t help but imagine what that kind of money could do for Czech sport and its development… The most sensible thing would be if this money went nowhere, however – the deficit is too high and we need to be saving. And an item like this is ripe for just that. In one of its annual reports from last year, the Supreme Audit Office found that only eight percent of all the deployed funding helped improve gender equality across all indicators. Furthermore, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (which is responsible for distributing the funding) didn’t even know the identity of the vast majority of the audited companies receiving the funding! While gender audits set back the national budget by a total of 120 million CZK between 2014 and 2021.
Is there a solution?
I am certain there is. For the aforementioned reasons, I am prepared to present an amendment proposal during the negotiations on the 2024 national budget, which will touch on the financing of non-profit organizations focusing on gender issues, and will propose that the funding meant to support these institutions be diverted to lowering the budget deficit.
Is there anything else that you’re working on and are hoping to implement in this term?
I have been working on improving the conditions for sports throughout my entire election term – same as the one prior. Be it for professional sports or for amateurs and enthusiasts. I ran with the vision of a major sports reform, which was to include the establishment of the Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Tourism. Big things like these, however, are a matter of political discourse that stretches beyond one or two election terms, so I’m focusing on making positive incremental changes. Sports for the disabled is a big topic for me. It is, unfortunately, still a very neglected issue in Czechia. It would make me very happy and would represent a major leap if I managed to convince the government to provide the disabled community with more than just disability pensions and state welfare while also ensuring that the whole field isn't managed purely by sports centers. Simultaneously, I am drafting a bill to amend the funding conditions for organizations that are ineffective at employing public finances. Similar to how I managed to arrange for state funding to be cut off for the Czech Union of Freedom Fighters, which sadly turned into a dubious association that ended up costing millions of crowns in public finances.
MILESTONES
Jakub recently celebrated his forty-fifth birthday. What would he say are the milestones in his life? "In terms of ski jumping, it has to be the win at the Four Hills Tournament and the World Championship, although I have to say it was a team effort to not take all the credit for myself. And in politics, I got a major morale boost by being elected into the Chamber when the voters showed me their support, helping me jump up to second place on the ticket thanks to preferential votes, which allowed me to try out national politics after years spent on the municipal level. And then being re-elected into the Chamber, because it was quite dramatic. But then there are the things that are truly important. My family, my wife, my children."
CV BOX
Jakub Janda (born April 27, 1978, in Čeladná) is an MP for the ODS and former ski jumper.
He has earned a master’s degree in marketing communications from the College of Business and Law.
Janda started competing in the Ski Jumping World Cup in 1996, earning his first points in 1997. He fought his way into the top ten four years later. The long-awaited first place came on January 23, 2005, in Titisee-Neustadt. At the Oberstdorf World Championship in 2005, he earned a silver medal on the normal hill and bronze on the large hill. He ended the 2005–2006 season on a high note, winning gold at the Four Hills Tournament.
He intended for the 2017–2018 season to be his last and wanted to conclude it with an Olympic Games appearance. However, in October 2017, he was elected a member of parliament, which led to him ending his sports career. In 2021, he defended his parliamentary seat for another term.
Janda lives in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm. He has a son from his first marriage named Oliver (12), a daughter by marriage Meggie (12), and a daughter Willien (4) with his second wife Barbora.
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