For over thirty years, Jan Zahradil was loyal to the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), gradually becoming one of its most prominent faces. A few months ago, he announced the end of that marriage and revealed a new partner: the Motorists party. Why did this happen, and how does he see his future as well as the future of Europe as a foreign policy expert?
As a well-known face of ODS, what was the final straw that led you to leave the party?
There was a certain progression that began with my departure from the European Parliament. Then, in the autumn of last year, I visited several local ODS branches to get a feel for the internal atmosphere. I found that despite widespread dissatisfaction with the government’s performance, there was no will for change in the ODS – apathy and passivity prevailed. I stopped believing the party could be revived, even if the current leadership were to step down. And then there were other factors: the government’s foreign policy, which I think is poor, despite the government’s pride in it. The “Foltýnization” of public discourse – meaning the spread of paranoia, spy mania, and the search for enemies within – which the government not only fails to resist but actively supports. In my view, ODS is on the same trajectory as the former ČSSD, and Petr Fiala is like the ODS version of Bohuslav Sobotka. I got tired of playing along with that farce.
You fell out with former president and prime minister Václav Klaus several years ago. What’s your relationship like now, and where do your views still align or differ?
It’s worth noting that I’m a “Klausite” – my political career began under Václav Klaus when he was prime minister. There was a period during my time in the EP when our relationship cooled, but that changed a few years ago when former president Klaus invited me to his 80th birthday celebration. Since then, we’ve been in regular contact again. I believe his voice is still very much needed – he has a comprehensive view of the political landscape, speaks sharply, and can “see around corners,” as the saying goes. He’s worth listening to.
You’re now the main foreign policy expert for the Motorists, but you’ve also announced you won’t run in the autumn parliamentary elections. Are you aiming for the post of foreign minister, which the Motorists might get in a new government with ANO, given both parties’ current polling?
That’s not how I think about it. You don’t need to hold office to have influence. A good example is Tomáš Pojar – he’s neither a minister nor an MP, but he influences foreign policy more than anyone else. Yes, I want to have a similar kind of influence, but I don’t particularly care whether that also leads to a formal position. I’m not seeking one, but I’m not opposed to it either.
Can you describe your vision of the Motorists’ foreign policy priorities?
We need to repair relations with our neighbors – Slovakia, Hungary. We need to repair relations with the great powers – the US, China. This government has undone all of that. We must de-ideologize our foreign policy and stop “Havelizing” it. Cut off political NGOs from the funding pipeline at the Foreign Ministry. Focus more on dynamic Asia and its champions, and less on post-Soviet countries like Ukraine, Moldova, or Georgia. Realism, pragmatism, a multipolar world – those must be the guiding principles of our foreign policy.
How do you feel about the first two months of Donald Trump’s second term? In your view, are the United States still an ally of the European Union and Europe?
Trump has redrawn the world’s geopolitical map. He’s launched a new concert of superpowers. The US is and will remain an ally of the US – and no one else. Europe still doesn’t understand this, but it has to adapt. In the Czech Republic, the notion of transatlantic relations is frozen somewhere in the Havel-Clinton-Albright era, but that’s over. The EU must abandon its “idealism,” stop exporting democracy and territorial expansion, and start engaging in the new balance of power and division of spheres of influence. Otherwise, this process will happen without it and around it.
You were one of the key architects of the EU’s free trade agreement with Vietnam. In light of US protectionism, do you believe the EU should finally approve the investment and trade agreement with China, or even start talks about a free trade zone?
We’ve rt hedan era of protectionism – the globalization we’ve known is over. No more major trade deals are coming. The EU should therefore urgently finalize at least those agreements that are already on the table, like the one with Australia, or those awaiting ratification, such as Mercosur rt he already signed investment deal with China. Let’s stop lecturing the whole world politically – no one’s interested in that. Instead, let’s open up markets and investment opportunities wherever we still can.
The author is a European editor of Deník
CV BOX
Jan Zahradil (born March 20, 1963, in Prague) is an ex-member of the European Parliament, former chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists party, and erstwhile vice-chair of the ODS.
He graduated from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, going on to work as a researcher in water management.
In 1990, Zahradil became a member of Občanské Fórum, joining the ODS a year later. In 1992, he was elected member of the Federal Assembly (Chamber of Deputies since 1998). In 2002, he ran to become chairman of the ODS but was unsuccessful. He did go on to serve as vice-chair and first vice-chair of the party. In March 2025, he announced that he was leaving ODS after 33 years and started closely cooperating with the Motorists party.
He was an MP until 2004 when he became a member of the European Parliament, which is a position he held until the 2024 elections. In 2009, he founded the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament and became its vice-chair. In March 2011, he became the first Czech to hold the position of ECR chairman.
Zahradil is married and has two children. He is an avid music fan, especially of rock music.
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