Senator Tomáš Czernin has been engaged in matters of Czech expatriates for a long time. We asked him to tell us more about what Czechia does for its expatriates. But we also touched on several other topics.
You have been known to openly criticize President Miloš Zeman. Why does TOP 09 not have the abolishment of the direct presidential election as part of its platform?
As much as I do not consider direct election to be a viable solution, I do not think that changing the way we elect our president will assure that the quality of the person who gets elected will improve. It would be good, but it is not a priority right now. What I consider more important is the criticism of the specific missteps of the person currently holding this office, and I hope that the people will vote better next time.
TOP 09 is perceived as the Prague café party (Translator’s note: Prague cafés are a colloquialism, a place where intellectuals would gather) by Czech voters. What are your plans for pulling in voters from other regions? You will not be able to win without their votes.
The Prague café is a Prague thing no longer. This intellectual phenomenon is now dispersed throughout the whole country, in cities and towns of all sizes, as well as in the countryside. Our platform in the SPOLU coalition strongly focuses on regional matters, be it the support of life in the countryside, ecological issues, or sustainable agriculture, and many others. Our latest success was the implementation of children’s groups, which can help people in places where there are not enough children to fill up a kindergarten, like small villages. There are plenty of others though – support for small and medium-sized farmers, aid in reforestation after bark beetle infestations, and others.
In the Senate, you are a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security. How would you rate the foreign policy of the current government?
The foreign policy of the current government is being affected to a great degree by the foreign political orientation of the President and his cabinet. This is due to the fact that the prime minister never treated foreign policy as a priority, and therefore the influence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has waned. We are being steered eastward, into the Russian and Chinese sphere of influence. We are expressing an affinity towards EU countries that are not meeting the very strict EU requirements on human rights and civil liberties, such as Hungary or Poland. Our foreign policy’s scope now only covers the economical side of things, which may be important, but must not be its sole focus. A smaller country, Czechia being one of these, can earn the respect of others especially through doing something different. I call this Havelian politics – an emphasis on abiding by human rights and civil liberties all around the world. A small country that has experienced a totalitarian regime can express itself in a clearer and more comprehensible manner when speaking on these matters to the rest of the international community. This was proven to be true during the period of Václav Havel’s time in office when Czechia was regarded with respect. A positive point that I see with the current government is the stern way it has treated the Russian Federation and its diplomats here in Czechia after uncovering the culprits responsible for the Vrbětice explosions. Our diplomatic efforts could have been stronger still though, in requesting that more severe actions be taken by our allies towards Russia. An aggressive military operation like this towards Czechia as a member of the EU and NATO ending in the deaths of two Czech citizens is absolutely unprecedented.
Which points do you feel the Czech foreign policy could improve on in the future?
I believe it is imperative to stay true to our European and Euro-Atlantic ties. Our membership in the EU must not be treated as optional or negotiable, and the slander of NATO must end, both of which President Zeman is a proponent of. We should also start being active in human rights issues again. The upcoming Czech presidency of the Council of the EU will give us a chance to do so. It would be highly unfortunate if we were to waste this opportunity the way we did in 2009, when, during our presidency, the ČSSD toppled the government in a most unexpected and inept manner.
You are also the Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Expatriates. How many Czech expatriates are there? And which countries have the most?
There are about two million people who claim to have Czech origins and ties. These are not always Czech citizens, however. There are about 800 thousand to a million of those. The two million include descendants of Czech people who have left our country in several waves. The first migrants left after the year 1547, it was a mass exodus of people from the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren to Poland and the Poznań region. After the year 1620 and the Battle of Bílá Hora, there came another wave of emigration. It was a gradual departure of non-catholic Czechs, who headed to Saxony, Silesia, Poland, and Hungary. Some groups are also scattered throughout Transylvania, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, England, Hamburg, and Brandenburg. More waves of emigration to various parts of Europe followed. Starting with the middle of the 19th century, Czech people started emigrating to other parts of the world, such as the USA, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, etc. More sizeable waves of emigration came with the years 1938, 1945, 1948, and 1968. After the year 1989, people started leaving Czechia for economic reasons, to find work or education, or due to relationships. The highest number of expatriates are located in the USA and Canada. In terms of Europe, it is Great Britain, Germany, and France.
Who is an expatriate anyway? A person who lives abroad and has a Czech passport? Or a person of Czech origin who is a citizen of another country? Or a person of partially Czech origin? Can you elaborate?
It is a matter of personal identity. A question that has been discussed by ethnologists and sociologists alike. Czech people living abroad who are Czech citizens do not really like to use the word expatriate. This term is used more by people descended from Czechs or other nations that lived in Czech territories in the past, and who settled at their current location a long time ago.
How does Czechia treat its expatriates? Is it a maternal relationship or is it more distant?
Czechia has a program approved by the Government of the Czech Republic for a five-year period. It is called the Program for the Support of Czech Cultural Heritage Abroad, currently ongoing from 2021 to 2025. It concerns financial aid, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs distributes to different expatriate organizations that put in a request. Last year, the Senate prompted the Government to double the resources for this program, and the Government followed through. The number of expatriate organizations requesting help has also doubled compared to previous years. I feel that the Government could still increase the financial aid provided, but the fact remains that many other European countries do not treat their diaspora nearly as well as we do. The inclusion of Czech schools located abroad into the Czech Education Law is a great thing. They have a contract with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, they have to fulfill the conditions of the Czech Education Program and they receive financial aid for education from the Ministry of Education's budget. Dual citizenship has been an option since 2014, and it is available for the descendants of Czech people who have lost Czech citizenship since 2019. There is a number of projects in support of expatriates, run by various ministries. The Senate has raised a request to create the Intradepartmental Committee for Czech People Living Abroad adjunct to the cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The website of the MFA offers a link called “Useful information for Czechs living abroad”, providing information on the various projects and aid provided by different ministries. There is still one unresolved issue, however. One important demand coming from Czechs living abroad is the ability to vote by mail. That is something we have not been able to push through in the past 20 years. We are now discussing the Election Bill in the Senate, specifically voting by mail in the Parliamentary and Presidential elections.
Yes, you have been a long-term proponent of Czech citizens living abroad having the ability to vote by mail...
The right to vote is a basic civil right and nobody should have any issues exercising it. There are two points constantly being argued back and forth. The first one being: why should they vote when they do not live here? My answer is – what if they are only abroad for half a year, studying? What if their stay abroad is for a limited amount of time, and it is their desire to influence their homeland where they plan to return one day? Of course, there are citizens who live abroad permanently, but they are some of our most excellent emissaries. Oftentimes, they are scientists and experts, giving our country more credit than its entire diplomatic efforts combined. In addition, it is a fact that our citizens living abroad bring in over 80 billion Crowns a year, as confirmed by the Czech National Bank. And we dare deprive them of their right to vote? Impossible! And the second point is: they can vote at various representative offices and embassies, why should they need mail-in voting? Imagine you are working or studying in Marseille, France. To vote, you have to travel to the Czech Embassy in Paris. Over 1000 kilometers away. Can a student who doesn't have two pennies to rub together afford this, or can an employee afford to take time off work to go vote? Most likely not. So, if the conditions for voting make it almost impossible for the citizens to exercise their rights, they need to be changed. And that is where voting by mail comes in.
Do you have an idea of the number of people who might want to vote by mail? Would there be sufficient interest?
I am in touch with several expatriate organizations as well as some active individuals on a regular basis, and I know for a fact that they have been calling for voting by mail for many years. They are highly interested in the development of our country. Currently, there are between ten and fifteen thousand of our citizens participating in elections from abroad. If voting by mail were to be an option, we estimate this number to increase many times over. That may be the reason why voting by mail has never been put into law. Czechs living abroad are educated, independent, and courageous. People such as those tend to be more right-leaning. I am certain that this was one of the reasons why the bill on voting by mail was never approved, despite it being included in the current government's Policy Statement. I am hoping that the upcoming Parliamentary elections will bring about the change needed to finally get voting by mail approved for citizens living abroad.
Tomáš Czernin, M.sc. (born March 4, 1962, in Pilsen) is an entrepreneur in the field of forestry and agriculture, politician, and senator (for TOP 09).
He has graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the CTU in Prague. After graduating, he worked as a planner in Czechoslovakia and later in Austria, where he moved to be with his wife Ursula.
He came back to Czechoslovakia in 1992, specifically to the Dymokury castle, returned to his father's estate through restitution.
He had been the representative of the Dymokury village in the Nymburk region between the years 1998-2002 and has resumed the role again as of 2014. He has been a senator since 2016, and vice-chair of TOP 09 since 2017.
He is descended from the ancient Czech noble house of Černín. He is married to his wife Ursula, they have four children – Zuzana, Anna Maria, Wolfgang, and Maximilian.
Support program
The Program for the Support of Czech Cultural Heritage Abroad is an official state program, approved by the government. Its main focus is providing financial and material aid to educational activities whose aim is to develop the knowledge of the Czech language and literature in expatriate communities. The second goal of the program is the support of projects run by all sorts of expatriate organizations in foreign countries. The program is a tangible and visible expression of Czechia's interest in its citizens living abroad.
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