Path of Change
NOW OR
NEVER
Political
Program - 100
Thesis
THE PATH OF CHANGE - NOW OR
NEVER
THE PATH OF CHANGE'S POLITICAL
PRIORITIES
THE PATH OF CHANGE'S 10
PROGRAMMATIC GOALS AND 100 THESIS
I. We Uphold
Enduring Values - For a Strong Society Based on Ethics
and Responsibility
II. We Will Improve
Education and Deepen General Knowledge - For the
Generation of a New Century
III. We Will Strengthen
Justice and Respect for the Law - For a Secure and
Calm Life for Our Citizens
IV. We Will Strengthen
the Fight Against Corruption - For a Lawful State of
Honest Citizens and Equal Opportunities
V. We Will Ensure the
Social and Health Security of Our Citizens - For a
Quality and Healthy Life
VI. We Will Enable
Honest Business Practices and We Will Assert Economic
Stability - For a Competitive Edge in a Globalised
World
VII. We Will Assert a
Healthy and Pleasant Environment - To Preserve
Ecological Balance and Sustainable Life
VIII. We Will Break
Down Bureaucracy - For a Lean, Strong, Decentralised
and Functioning State
IX. We Will Secure
Opportunities and Good Prospects - For a Successful
Future and Self-confidence of Every
Generation
X. We Will Complete
European Unity - For the Lives and Security of All of
the People of this Country
THE PATH OF CHANGE
NOW OR NEVER
At the threshold of a new
millennium, THE PATH OF CHANGE political party is
presenting a program for the future of this country, for
its opportunities, which remain - more than ten years
after the Velvet Revolution - unutilised. The Czech
Republic currently needs strong new political leadership.
A high quality, experienced team that will help shape our
country in the new century. A modern, young team, under
whose leadership the Czech nation will regain an
appropriate position in Europe and in the world. We must
root ourselves in the values that our country has always
represented and also defend our country's interests and
increase its prestige. THE PATH OF CHANGE is a political
party that is ready to take over responsibility for our
country. Over the past ten years, the political garniture
has turned its back on democracy and the free market. THE
PATH OF CHANGE is prepared to assert the interests of
those citizens who wish to live in a truly democratic
state in which laws will be consistently applied and
civic freedom will be likewise respected.
This country needs a new
political vision. The goals of neo-liberal ideology have
been depleted. Although this ideology successfully
fulfilled the role of a critic of past regimes, it
completely exhausted itself in the process and did not
manage to subsequently offer constructive and timely
resolutions for newly emerging problems in
society.
Citizens are rightfully asking
that greater justice and social equality accompany
demands on productivity and competitiveness. In addition
to satisfying their material needs, they want to realise
goals and values that reach beyond the individual. The
material aspect is important, often even decisive, but
insufficient for a high quality of life by itself. People
of this millennium do not wish to be reduced to mere cogs
in the wheels of the globalised world.
It is apparent that current
politics is not responding adequately to these citizen
needs. Politics acts as if they were concerned only with
events and facts within their immediate reach, which
leads to the emergence of a certain alienation. Politics
thus reduces itself to mere administration and
operations, without ideas, values, an enduring vision or
societal ideals. Politics is also, however, part of the
culture in which it exists and its foundation consists of
morals inherited from many generations and in experiences
from which one should glean inspiration to give human
life deeper meaning. If politicians wish to satisfy these
needs, they must assert ethics and aesthetics in politics
on the basis of deep personal conviction.
It is likewise necessary to
begin asserting firm values in politics. Rise above the
sphere of the individualistic, narrow and often
convenient perception of the world and show people that
the principles of freedom, responsibility, honesty,
justice and solidarity are public property that deserves
care. Support of these values, however, requires each
individual to have a strong will, courage and a creative
approach. To date, people have primarily seen abuse of
power, corruption, and illegal blurring of public and
private affairs, which results in deep apathy and
disillusionment.
THE PATH OF CHANGE is not
ideologically conceived as neo-liberal in economics or
conservative in culture. THE PATH OF CHANGE first and
foremost looks to the future and sets the groundwork for
steps that will lead to CHANGES in all of society. It
paves the PATH for individual and societal successes that
lead to hope for a more free, just and acceptable life.
This new PATH of deep CHANGES is also a way to live a
good life and suits all honest and decent people of this
country.
At the heart of THE PATH OF
CHANGE are citizens. The founding point of THE PATH OF
CHANGE's politics is a conviction about human dignity and
respect for human freedom, nature and rights. THE PATH OF
CHANGE is striving to fuel the path towards personal
growth, the foundation of which is human freedom and a
liberal democratic environment. Equal opportunities and
life in a tolerant society are its requirements. This
necessitates that the state asserts its role effectively
and with concern for public welfare. This role of the
state however must be based on decentralisation, order,
firm rules and upholding of each individual's rights and
responsibilities without exceptions.
THE PATH OF CHANGE is aware that
globalisation, the onslaught of modern technologies and
the speed of changes occurring in the world require
sensitive formation of a firm societal balance that
supports human integrity and growth as a key point of all
political and social life. If this balance is absent,
intolerance and social aggression enter society and
various forms of racial hatred and destructive
nationalism grow. In their ultimate form, all of these
elements threaten the life and freedom of each
person.
Today, we once again stand
before the need to make far-reaching changes. These are
changes, however, that will bring opportunities for all
citizens of this country. For those who do not allow the
small scale of Czech politics overshadow their view of
the need for these changes, a magnificent panorama opens
up of opportunities that will offer our children and
grandchildren more chances than any period before. THE
PATH OF CHANGE upon which we have embarked is not an easy
path. It is however a reliable path and above all the
right path, leading to a tolerant and promising
future.
If we wish to take this path,
then…
NOW OR NEVER!
THE PATH OF
CHANGE'S
POLITICAL PRIORITIES
1. Growth in the standard
of living and quality of life for citizens of our
republic. Development of the economy and society depends
on the type of foundation that will underlie personal
success and the parameters by which this success will be
measured. Therefore a motivational environment that
rewards individual productivity, education and
inventiveness over wiliness and corruption is
important.
2. Assertion of the Czech
Republic's accession to the European Union without a
referendum. Casting doubt on our accession to the EU is a
dangerous gamble, primarily with the lives of subsequent
generations. We insist that the Czech Republic become a
fully-fledged member of the EU and not a second-tier
country. Europe represents for us not only economic and
employment opportunities but above all a culture with
deeply rooted norms of civilisation.
3. Renewal of a political
elite in a democracy can occur only if new people are
continually involved and there are competing ideas and
visions. We want to renew trust in politics, which means
serving citizens, not ensuring the existence of
politicians. Therefore we must open the path to politics
to young people who will imbue it with new, firmer
values, a long-term vision, substance and above all
honesty and courage.
4. Strengthening the role
and importance of all parts of civil society and creating
a favourable climate for their development. We believe
that more and more citizens must participate in
decision-making about public affairs that concern them.
The unfinished transformation and growing economic
pressure on every family further strengthened the
atomisation of society begun by communism. We are
convinced that despite its importance, money cannot be
the only link between people. Facing corruption and
formation of clans and on the other hand cultivating
relationships in the family and between generations -
these are tasks that stand before every proud and honest
citizen of this state. Municipalities and regions carry
the same weight and importance in the life of the country
as macro-level central politics.
5. Limit the influence of
the state to the benefit of citizens and businesses that
create values. Reform of public administration and
institutions must be fundamental and must primarily take
into consideration ways of serving citizens. Government
authorities must treat citizens as their clients and
treat business people as creators of values and new jobs.
Citizens must strictly monitor public funds, with
particular attention to the effective and economic nature
of their use. We want a small, well-functioning
state.
6. Strengthening elements
of direct democracy. Democracy improves through greater
citizen participation in decision-making on issues that
concern their lives. This means participation of citizens
on a local level - the level of towns and cities - and
not only in relation to the state but within civil
society itself. All of this requires a maximum level of
openness and a high level of transparency in the state
administration as well as ensuring the right to
information and plurality in the media. Therefore we
assert:
a. Direct
election of the president of the republic and
strengthening of his authority
b. Direct election of
mayors (lord mayors) of cities and towns and of
directors of regions.
7. We refuse right-left
ideological views of the world. We assert professional
resolution of issues - that is, those that are best for
the majority of citizens in the given instance and given
conditions. One of the reasons that THE PATH OF CHANGE
formed was to assert placement of politically independent
professionals and recognised experts into government
positions.
THE PATH OF
CHANGE'S
10 PROGRAMMATIC GOALS AND 100 THESIS
1. We uphold enduring
values - for a strong society with ethics based on
responsibility.
2. We will raise the
quality of education and deepen general knowledge - for
the generation of the new century.
3. We will strengthen
justice and respect for the law - for a safe, calm life
for our citizenry.
4. We will strengthen the
fight against corruption - for a lawful state with honest
and equal opportunities.
5. We will ensure social
and health security for citizens - for a quality, healthy
life.
6. We will enable honest
business practices and we will assert economic stability
- for a competitive position in the globalised
world.
7. We will assert a
healthy, pleasant environment - to preserve ecological
balance and sustainable life.
8. We will break down
bureaucracy - for a lean, strong, decentralised and
functioning state administration.
9. We will ensure
opportunities and good prospects - for a successful
future and the self- confidence of every
generation.
10. We will complete
European unity - for the lives and security of all of the
people of this country.
I. We Uphold Enduring Values
- For a Strong Society Based on Ethics and
Responsibility
We are convinced that the
future of our country is unimaginable without the
co-existence of people based on respect for common
ethical and spiritual values. Strong societies have firm
moral foundations, which relate directly not only to
qualify of life but also to a healthy economy. It is the
responsibility of politicians to create a favourable
climate of trust in the healthy, just operation of
society and state. Self-confidence, diligence,
responsibility and honesty are principles that along with
civility, solidarity and civic advocacy must create the
overall picture of our country. The progress that the
market has made in the short period of democracy must be
objectively recognised. At the same time we are aware of
the limits that the market economy has as a tool for
redistributing wealth. At present we must concern
ourselves with the task of strengthening direct democracy
and enabling various ways for citizens to participate in
public affairs. Simply put, the new significance of
solidarity and emerging citizenship must be acknowledged
as an important framework for the free market and
democracy.
a. THE PATH OF CHANGE
asserts middle-road politics without ideological labels.
THE PATH OF CHANGE's politics is not right wing, but it
looks and moves forward. We want to be the guide for all
of the changes that this country will undergo through the
broadest societal consensus.
b. We emphasis qualitative
and universal development of the human personality and we
consider a unilateral consumer lifestyle as an expression
of inner emptiness.
c. The fundamental
standard of our approach is sincerity, substance and an
effort to listen to others. Several principles relating
to public life and our work apply in general. They may be
characterised by these terms: selflessness, integrity,
objectivity, responsibility, openness and
honesty.
d. We follow an Ethical
Code that applies to members of the party, candidates and
elected officials and sympathisers.
e. We accept shared
responsibility for global problems and development in the
world.
f. We will secure
effective mechanisms against nationalism in all its
possible forms and variations.
g. We support non-profit,
non-governmental organisations that contribute to the
creation of an open, tolerant and solidary civil society,
which is the precondition for a functioning and
prospering democracy.
h. We will push for the
government of the Czech Republic to help create, accept
and bring to life standards that correspond to standards
in civilised countries through principled
positions.
i. We will strive to
create a well-functioning information society across the
entire CR.
j. We will include several
fundamental tasks in our political program:
i. Finish
creating conditions for renewal and strengthening of
civil society.
ii. Broader, deeper
application of freedom and equality, primarily between
women and men, the rich and the poor, and people of
various ethnic backgrounds.
iii. Good will and
openness towards all initiatives led by honest,
entrepreneurial individuals.
iv. Equal opportunities
in society for all, an emphasis on knowledge,
informedness, capabilities and
productivity.
II. We Will Improve
Education and Deepen General Knowledge - For the Generation
of a New Century
In order to provide
everyone with as many educational opportunities as
possible, the functionality of our educational system
must be renewed and upbringing and education must be
emphasised as the most important elements in the personal
development of each person. We want people to feel free,
to think responsibly about important issues and to help
assert the principles of humanity on the basis of their
general education. We see the foundation in quality
primary and secondary school systems and in broad
accessibility to university education through modern
information technologies. We are convinced that a highly
motivated and independent teacher is the most important
initiator of these needed changes. For this reason, we
want to increase the prestige of educational workers with
an emphasis on their material and above all societal
acknowledgement. We plan to assert issuance of an
independent salary schedule solely for educational
workers.
PRIMARY EDUCATION
a. We view primary schools
not only as places to educate children, but also as
centres for development of regional cultural and
community life.
i. In regard to
population development trends, we prefer independent
innovation in schools directed towards the broad use
of extracurricular activities over insensitive
centralised interventions.
ii. Primary school
education must reinforce the importance of natural
history and civic activities and knowledge. This is a
prerequisite for the young generation's
self-confidence at the time of the CR's accession to
the European Union.
b. We will strive for
integration of physically and socially handicapped
children as well as provision of individual instruction
for exceptionally talented children. Of course we will
pay attention to the education of all children regardless
of their origin or nationality.
c. We view basic artistic
education and all activities in aesthetic instruction and
sports as natural parts of the cultural standard of the
country as well as preventive measures against various
anti-social influences.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
d. Secondary education
must above all ensure young people's sense of direction
in the world and decision-making abilities and last but
not least, lay the groundwork for independent work with
new technologies.
i. Co-operation
with representatives of employers in the creation of
professional instructional programs is an important
element in students' future efforts on the labour
market.
ii. Our goal is a
multi-functional school offering a diverse and
interconnected curriculum that enables as many
students as possible to obtain the necessary
qualifications.
iii. We plan to assert
all methods in the structure and content of secondary
school education that will lead to greater
permeability of schools.
e. In relation to the CR's
accession to the EU we support multi-cultural education
alongside expansion of foreign language
instruction.
f. Secondary school
education must eliminate pointless memorisation of facts
and embrace modern pedagogical methods that correspond to
the needs of the 21st century and the capabilities of the
new generation.
UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION
g. We perceive
universities as specialised preparation for future
professional life. University education must undergo
fundamental ideological and economic reform. We consider
the current trend whereby university education stands in
for low quality primary and secondary education as
uneconomical and incorrect.
h. We support expansion of
correspondence university courses and study programs for
the employed, primarily in conjunction with use of modern
information technologies such as the Internet. We want to
resolve the imbalance between applicants and
universities' capacities through the creation of "open
universities" for all interested parties.
i. University education
must be open to everyone. We will strive to allow those
who are not accepted at university to pay tuition in
order to give them the opportunity to obtain an
university education.
SCIENCE AND
RESEARCH
j. Our goal is significant
support of programs in which the CR is capable of keeping
pace on a global level. Therefore:
i. We will ensure
a comprehensive grant system and we will focus on
those programs and working groups which produce
results that can compete on a global level.
ii. Through tax
incentives we will motivate firms and primarily
foreign investors to direct their resources to applied
research.
iii. We will make the
profession of scientific research more economically
attractive. We will support development of science and
research at universities and at the same time we will
create a program to gain capable researchers from
economically weaker countries.
III. We Will Strengthen
Justice and Respect for the Law - For a Secure and Calm Life
for Our Citizens
The gradual rise in crime
rates is not an unalterable natural law. The state,
municipalities and above all citizens themselves must
take on the fight against all forms of crime and illegal
acts as their personal concern. The benevolent
penal-legal system does not evoke the appropriate respect
and trust, and wholly inadequate and thus ineffective
sanctions and lack of thorough co-operation between state
entities enables criminals to undertake illegal activity.
We will persistently pursue all crime: from professional
murder, blackmail, drug distribution all the way to the
sale of alcohol and tobacco products to minors. We will
focus our attention on stricter recourse against juvenile
repeat offenders as well. We will put aside disinterest,
ignorance and tolerance of even seemingly insignificant
delinquents. We will not allow the state to capitulate to
crime. For when the state shows weakness, it is primarily
the weak who suffer. Our goal is quality protection of
the lives and property of our citizens, respect and trust
in the law, strengthening of the sense of safety and an
effective fight against all forms of crime.
a. We will establish a
Supreme Administrative Court as part of the functioning
administrative judicial branch. In general,
administrative law is the law stipulating the
administration of the government agenda. It governs the
functioning of the central government, local
administration and public bodies, and the way in which
these bodies execute statutory or other public authority
or duties.
b. We will improve
conditions for judges' work. We will increase the number
of court employees and improve the courts' technical
equipment while monitoring the quality and speed of
judges' work and we will create a mechanism to best
motivate judges performing good work.
c. We will create
effective preventive measures against crimes committed by
foreigners in our country by tightening immigration
policy and asserting visa requirements for countries
whose citizens are among the most frequent offenders of
serious crimes.
d. We plan to ensure the
security of the state by establishing a professional army
and improving the working conditions of security
units.
e. In co-operation with
international security units we will focus on thorough
prevention, exposure and fighting against all forms of
organised crime.
f. We will create a
preventive program to lower crime rates, particularly in
relation to drug problems among youth.
g. We will reassess the
terms of imprisonment for specific serious criminal acts
and we will assert use of alternative
punishment.
h. We will ensure rapid
legal proceedings. The period between the crime and the
court's verdict must be shortened to a minimum. We will
support the newly established institute of private
executors.
i. We will create
conditions for unbiased evaluation of all involved
parties in criminal proceedings. We will change the
manner of assessing the amount of injured parties' claim
to damages.
j. We will create a
quality legal framework through recodification of
fundamental legal standards.
IV. We Will Strengthen the
Fight against Corruption - For a Lawful State of Honest
Citizens and Equal Opportunities
Moral and legal integrity
is one of the many paths that we must embark upon. When
the state quells corruption and crime, it serves as a
means to a more general goal: to a more effective, more
transparent and better operating state administration.
The need to face white collar corruption and crime must
emerge in the Czech Republic, for harsh confrontation
with these practices is a requirement for economic
development and social stability (the CR is in 47th place
on the ladder measuring extent of corruption according to
the Transparency International 2001 report). The sad
truth is that corruption and crime are on the rise and
that the CR is not in a situation to preach morality to
anyone. The content of our concept is true legal reform
and restructuring of institutions in conjunction with
targeted awareness-raising programs. Our economy must be
thoroughly liberalised while the activity of the state
administration must be carefully monitored, particularly
in awarding of state tenders. We need a concept of
integrity:
a. So that we can
determine priorities among the reforms necessary for a
transparent and responsibly operating state
administration.
b. For monitoring of
public administration's activities. We will strengthen
the investigative and enforcement capacity for corruption
cases. The public will gain better access to information
necessary for effective monitoring.
c. For introduction of
standards to regulate the behaviour of state employees in
cases of conflict of interest and establishment of
efficient measures to prevent illegal accumulation of
wealth including heavy fines for those who abuse their
public positions to support their private
interests.
d. For measures against
bribery in all financial or business
transactions.
e. For co-operation of all
units in the judicial field, financial institutions and
the police system. This will enable us to react quickly
and effectively to international criminal
investigations.
f. In order to strengthen
tax collection.
g. For development of a
European codex for criminal cases. This standard would
include turning over of delinquents and court persecution
of individuals accused of these acts.
h. For establishment of
priorities in political life and public administration.
We see these priorities in the following
points:
i. Introduction
of all mechanisms that support responsibility and
transparency in all decision-making in state
bodies.
ii. A creative
partnership between public administration and civic
associations.
iii. Reform of state
administration and of the procedure against conflict
of interest of state employees.
iv. Administrative law
as a regular part of all legal systems.
v. Creation of
mechanisms that offer state employees means of
notification for cases of corruption.
vi. Judicial
independence and ensuring that court proceedings work
against corruption effectively as a scare
tactic.
vii. An open,
competitive and transparent system of awarding public
tenders.
viii. Alert media,
which can freely perform their role as the public
watchdog and raise the public's awareness of its
rights and duties at the same time.
i. For establishment of
strong, independent anti-corruption bodies and
co-operation with units from other countries in the fight
against international crime, mafia and
corruption.
j. So that the Penal Code
is able to secure monitoring, seizure, freezing and
confiscation of illegal income from corruption and
crime.
V. We Will Ensure the Social
and Health Security of Our Citizens - For a Quality and
Healthy Life
Our goal is improvement in
the health care standard and growth in the length and
quality of our citizens' lives. For this we need a
liberal state that is capable of positively motivating
citizens while using effective mechanisms to prevent
abuse of social generosity. We assert limiting state
power by preventing abuse of this power. The value of
money must be made as stable as possible. In this way, we
will establish reliable security for old age and crisis
situations. We will stand against such redistribution
policy that benefits all imaginable interests. On the
contrary, we will assert a policy that will secure
resources for provision of targeted and permanent help
where it is needed. We will create conditions and space
for human solidarity: in private. We will thus refute the
incorrect conviction that the state should secure
assistance and compassion for our loved ones.
a. We will set up the
health care system so that it supports each individual's
personal responsibility for his own health while also
securing basic security to all citizens.
b. Our goal is one common
location for collection of health and social insurance
and income taxes. This will raise the efficiency of
collection and also decrease bureaucracy.
c. We will set up
incentives for health care workers with the aim of
securing quality working conditions for them. We
anticipate that this will result in a kind, humane,
highly professional health care system.
d. We will combine health
and sickness allowance insurance with the aim of
decreasing unsustainably long periods of sickness from
the current average of 28 days to the period typical in
EU countries (8 days). We will motivate doctors and
citizens in order to limit parasitism on the sickness
allowance system.
e. We will focus on
building high quality, efficient mechanisms to monitor
finances in health insurance companies and state health
care facilities with the aim of lowering financial
seepage and corruption (through boards of directors and
supervisory boards).
f. We want to lower
overall unemployment through state support of
infrastructure in regions with high unemployment rates,
support of private investment in these areas and
requalification programs. We see a significant
opportunity in investments into environmental protection
and revitalisation, where we envision job opportunities
for many people.
g. We will support
families with small children through increased tax
relief. We will increase maternity leave allowances and
we will enable mothers on maternity leave to earn more
money than they can today. We will secure advantageous,
state-guaranteed loans for these families.
h. We will link sickness
allowance insurance to health insurance in relation to
pension supplementary insurance so that the saved sums
are later transferred to individual pension supplementary
insurance. Through this mechanism, we will create
incentives for citizens to care for their health and so
that abuse of the sickness allowance system does not pay
off.
i. We will intensify
incentives for citizens to retire later of their own
accord - their pensions will increase according to the
number of extra years worked. As in other European
nations, the pension system is a time bomb.
The current difference between expenditures to the system
and income equals 1% of GDP and will exceed 3% before
2020. All the same some parameters of the system may be
changed immediately:
i. Increase
pension allowances in accordance with the evolution of
prices, not wages.
ii. Decrease the
incentive for early retirement.
iii. Continue to raise
the retirement age.
iv. Extend the minimum
period of contribution to the system, which secures
that full pension allowances are paid out.
v. In the mid-term, the
system of periodic financing of pensions should be
reformed to favour fund financing. People should have
a pension account at their disposal into which they
would deposit their savings. State assistance should
again be focused on the poorest
individuals.
j. We will increase tax
advantages for individual pension supplementary
insurance. We will provide greater incentives for
employers to pay their employees' pension supplementary
insurance. We will financially motivate families to care
for their infirm relations (greater tax relief, higher
payments for care).
VI. We Will Enable Honest
Business Practices and We Will Assert Economic Stability -
For a Competitive Edge in a Globalised World
Employed persons in the
Czech Republic deduct an average of 47.5% from their
gross income in taxes. In OECD countries (the club of
most developed countries of the world) the equivalent tax
is approximately half of this amount. Czech citizens pay
disproportionately high taxes and even this is not
enough. The state spends more money than it should,
accumulates public budget deficits and issues promissory
notes to cover them. These securities, however, must be
paid back someday. The state's current policy is a policy
of lowering the standard of living of future generations
and the Czech Republic is consistently criticised for
this approach by all foreign observers, including the
European Union. The goal of THE PATH OF CHANGE is to not
financially burden future generations while also lowering
taxes. Individuals who have the necessary entrepreneurial
capabilities and a sense of justice and solidarity create
economic growth, which the CR urgently needs. These
individual capabilities hinge on the culture of our
common life, diligence and an atmosphere of trust in
society as well as on a legal system that asserts and
protects the business environment and structures marked
by high productivity and competitiveness. This includes
sharing a business and trade ethic which signifies that
the principles of fair play can be followed even in
business. In this sense, we consider the quality of
education and upbringing to be a key factor that forms
the basis of entrepreneurial capabilities. For this
reason, we want hastened economic growth accompanied by
growth in the standard of living of all citizens of the
Czech Republic, with consideration given to environmental
conservation.
a. We support investment
primarily into companies with new technologies, into
infrastructure and services. We will focus important
investments first and foremost into regions with high
unemployment rates and into programs reflecting
environmental quality.
b. We will gain new
employment opportunities primarily if we eliminate
monopolies. By removing the postal, telecommunication and
energy monopolies, we want to establish conditions for a
more diverse assortment and more advantageous supplying
for businesses and households. The privatisation of
companies and firms with state assets must be completed,
the role of effective service provision must be
transferred to private businesses and they must be
involved in financing and operation of the entire
infrastructure on a massive scale.
c. Lower taxes, a minimum
of exceptions, and a transparent tax system with clear
rules for all: this is the content of our tax concept,
which we will present for a vote in these elections in
the Czech Parliament. The successes of other countries
that set out on this path long ago confirm the accuracy
of our tax policy. We will implement fundamental tax
reform, the goal of which will be significant decreases
in companies' and individuals' direct taxes through a
transfer to indirect taxes, i.e., consumer goods
taxes.
i. In the area of
indirect taxes, we support the environmental tax
(fine) for consumption of ecologically wasteful
products and use of non-renewable resources. We also
support introduction of a health tax on consumption of
products that damage health (cigarettes, alcohol). The
yield from these taxes will be used for environmental
protection and development of preventive health
programs.
ii. We want to lower
taxes for legal entities in all tax categories, with a
base tax level of 10% instead of the current 15% and a
maximum level of 20% instead of the current 32%. Six
out of ten of our companies are artisan and
medium-sized firms in personal ownership. We will
lower taxes for companies (firms) on business activity
in the same manner, to a maximum rate of 20% instead
of the current 31%, for performance must pay
off.
iii. In the same way,
taxation of companies' revenues must be organised such
that investment once again flows intensively into the
Czech Republic and so that firms reinvest their
profits here. For this reason, we will lower the
important income tax on legal entities for foreign
investors to 0% to 10% for retained profit (depending
on support for introducing new technologies) and to 5%
for dividends.
d. In order to address the
apparent lack of domestic capital for financing economic
growth and the persistently weak emphasis on increasing
savings volumes, we want to markedly lower taxes from
capital gains to 5% (bank interest, promissory note
interest, dividends from certificates of deposit). At the
same time we will focus our attention on property taxes,
where repeat taxation on already taxed income occurs. We
will strive to abolish the inheritance tax and to
simplify the donation tax, which we consider as
unnecessary burdens in the period of economic
transformation.
e. Our anticipated
full-fledged accession to the EU in 2004 requires prior
implementation of relevant tax legislation, regulations
and institutions in a trustworthy and efficient manner.
This means that a number of EU regulations must become
effective prior to this date. Harmonisation primarily
affects indirect taxes (value added taxes and consumer
goods taxes), which require a number of changes. The most
important of these are:
i. Narrowing the
list of goods and services with lowered value added
tax rates,
ii. Lowering the
threshold for mandatory VAT registration,
iii. Raising consumer
goods tax rates for cigarettes and carbon hydrogen
fuels and lubricants to the minimum level set in the
EU,
iv. Abolishing duty
free shops on highway border crossings. Duty free
shops in airports will be useable only for trips
outside of the EU.
f. Therefore we will also
reform VAT - we will establish a group with zero VAT
duties (health care, education, ecology, housing
construction). As part of the new tax system, which
should see the light of day within three years, we plan
to replace gradual lowering of direct taxes and social
deductions with an equivalent raising of value added tax
rates from the current 5% to 16%, whereby the current VAT
maximum of 22% would gradually move towards 16%, which
would later become the singular limit.
g. It is necessary to
prevent the state from spending beyond its means, whereby
it accumulates public budget debts to the detriment of
future generations' quality of life.
i. Within the
public finance system, we will stop direct or hidden
subsidies to companies with records of long-standing
inefficiency.
ii. We will transfer a
greater proportion of authority and responsibility
from the central government to regional
self-government (UTTUs).
iii. We will eliminate
discrimination of small and medium-sized companies in
access to credit.
iv. We will strive for
better tax collection, primarily from large companies
and corporations.
h. We will assert micro-
and small-business support programs - we will introduce
simplified taxation for small businesses.
i. Small business
owners will not have to carry out complicated
accounting, but only accounting of income, taxed at a
nominal rate of 5%.
ii. We will push
through a measure whereby micro- and small-business
owners will not be taxed on mortgages with which they
invest into expansion and improvement of their firms.
We will push through direct and immediate deductions
on all firm-directed investments, including
investments into firms' real estate assets.
iii. We will simplify
bureaucracy that complicates micro-, small- and
mid-sized business. We will assert the establishment
of self-governing chambers of small business owners,
which will gradually take over the tasks of state
small business authorities. We will simplify the
Trades Licensing Act and make business opportunities
accessible to more citizens.
i. We perceive development
and support of services, including state support of
tourism promotion, as an important element of economic
policy. We will develop and implement an agro-tourism
support program for the Czech Republic. It is apparent
that our rural areas and unique landscape are becoming
steadily more important.
j. State expenditures
supporting construction continue to rise but the
anticipated results have not manifested themselves.
Current programs are directed primarily towards
higher-income individuals. Thus we want to liberalise
rent prices as soon as possible so as to increase
incentives to modernise the current housing stock. Funds
obtained from higher rent will be used to compensate rent
for families with lower incomes.
VII. We Will Assert a
Healthy and Pleasant Environment - To Preserve Ecological
Balance and Sustainable Life
The current state of the
environment is unfortunately such that we can no longer
speak of its preservation but in many cases, only of its
improvement. Environmental issues are increasingly
becoming the centre of attention for we perceive nature
as part of a great order, of which humans are one part.
Our goal is sustainable development of a society that is,
despite technological progress, capable of behaving in an
environmentally sensitive manner while also ensuring
people a quality environment. Our goal is to elect
societal, economic and other processes that will be as
conservative and tolerant to the environment as possible
from their very introduction. It is indisputable that
environmental protection is becoming our primary societal
task, which cannot be managed without state participation
based on good will and understanding. Thus the state must
set the framework in which basic environmental protection
goals are defined. Clean air, clean water, unspoiled
nature, preserved landscape, transportation routes with
minimum noise, ecological waste disposal and others -
these are tasks for all of society.
a. Long-term sustainable
development, which means fulfilling the ideals of
humanism and respect for the environment, is a pillar of
our program. Sustainable development means a functioning
economy that fulfils the requirements and needs of
current generations without negatively influencing in any
way future generations' chances to satisfy their own
needs. Therefore we need to renew the balance between the
individual's freedom and his responsibility towards the
rest of humanity and nature. In consideration of the
future and the lives of our children, we must accept
responsibility primarily for the state of the earth that
we will leave them. For these reasons:
i. We will make
conditions for export of natural resources stricter so
that the CR is not plundered to the detriment of
future generations.
ii. We will create a
nation-wide environmental education
program.
iii. We will strengthen
the influence of civic initiatives in independent
monitoring of the state of the environment.
b. One goal of a
sustainable development strategy is to remove chemicals
from the environment. That means:
i. Complete
liquidation of former environmental dumpsites and
clean heavily contaminated land and water.
ii. Improve the
recording and monitoring system for chemicals that are
in use in the CR.
iii. Lower production
and distribution of chemicals into the
environment.
iv. Limit and gradually
cease production of materials that are toxic,
persistent and which settle in living organisms (DDT)
and damage the Earth's ozone layer.
c. In addition to being
our home, the Czech landscape is an agricultural
landscape. Alongside its productive use, agriculture has
land-preservation, hydrological, aesthetic and
recreational uses. For this reason, we will financially
support particularly those farmers who ensure sustained
care of the landscape and who practice ecological
agriculture. However we will use all of our strength to
prevent overproduction of non-ecological foods whose
production damages the environment.
d. Tourism may contribute
to such regional development that preserves the character
and function of the local landscape and is of a
sustainable nature. Thus we support development of
agro-tourism, bicycle tourism, hiking tourism and spa
tourism.
e. According to the type
and extent of environmental damage, we distinguish our
environmental policy into the following
categories:
i. Voluntary
environmental protection. The gentlest form of
environmental protection policy consists of calls and
appeals to people's reason or sense of good.
ii. Technical-planned
environmental protection. Technical environmental
protection removes that which develops through the
natural operation of society, i.e. particularly
cleaning wastewater and burning rubbish. Planned
environmental protection focuses on preventing
environmental damage (e.g., as part of land use and
transportation planning).
iii. Police-legislative
environmental protection. In order to maintain the
quality of the environment (maximum emission levels),
standards on maximum emission levels for individual
producers and consumers must be established. Behaviour
that damages the environment is directly prohibited
while desirable behaviour is induced by regulations
(e.g., monitoring exhaust fume levels) and bans
(limited highway speeds).
iv. Market-economic
environmental protection. Even the environmental field
must rest on healthy economic foundations.
Market-economic environmental protection is based on
this premise. Tax instruments, voluntary obligations
and certificates (emission certificates) gain
significance in environmental policy.
f. Voluntary environmental
protection activities (participation in environmental
audits) must be appropriately remunerated. Responsibility
for environmental protection must be much more
intensively transferred to individuals, architects,
engineering firms, business people, artisans and even
individual households. For this reason, we will present
for approval an environmental code that aims to make
environmental law more transparent and consequently,
easier to implement.
g. The core of our policy
is protection of the natural foundations of life. We need
to disengage economic growth from resource use. We must
assert greater production of ecological products while
using lower amounts of energy.
h. We will offer means and
economic tools (pricing, tax policy, subsidies, etc.) to
lower our economy's demands on energy, particularly until
energy prices are liberalised.
i. We will reward and
support use of renewable energy sources. Alongside
efficient energy use, development of renewable sources is
one way of fulfilling the Kyoto agreements on global
reduction of fossil fuel consumption and consequent
reduction of carbon dioxide production.
j. Our task is reduced
waste production in conjunction with growth in economic
production. Emphasis must be placed on better usage of
waste material through recycling and burning.
VIII. We Will Break Down
Bureaucracy - For a Lean, Strong, Decentralised and
Functioning State
The task of state
officials is to administer public affairs. However, as
soon as bureaucracy is established, it begins to take on
a life of its own and consider the public as its enemy.
When referring to "public service", it is important to
bear in mind that elected public representatives as well
as appointed officials have similar responsibilities.
However, it is easy for politicians to object that they
should not have to carry responsibility in the same sense
as state officials, be it only for the reason of having
to repeatedly struggle for their mandate in elections,
which requires greater direct responsibility towards the
public. Transparency is thus as important for elected
public representatives as it is for appointed state
officials. Thus in a world where the rate of change is
increasingly gaining momentum small and flexible entities
find it easier to adapt and innovate. Small entities -
whose members are more familiar with the local situation
and have immediate access to it, and feel personal
responsibility - can find better solutions for they have
greater imagination and creativity than large,
bureaucratic organisations. This holds true both in
economy and politics, both on the national level and in
the European context. Relevant studies show that SMEs are
as much as twenty times more creative than large
enterprises. Bureaucratic centralism has outlived itself
and the future belongs to decentralised solutions.
Therefore we want to delegate more powers and
responsibility to entities at lower levels. Hierarchical
structures are undoubtedly limiting. We believe in
deregulation and breaking down bureaucracy, in specific
individual responsibility, competition and
regionalisation. We believe in people, not bureaucratic
institutions.
a. We are convinced that
people will be better off with less state influence on
citizens' decision-making. We want the state to stint
itself in favour of its citizens and enterprises. Each
region must take responsibility for creating its
area.
b. We require greater
transparency in major government aims and also in short-
and long-term decisions in the areas of expenditures and
tax policy. This strict transparency should lead the
government to place greater emphasis on the long-term
effects of its decisions, which should thus lead to a
more balanced fiscal policy. Within the policy of the CR,
we are also prepared to accept fiscal responsibility
measures that aim to achieve five goals:
i. Increase the
transparency of political aims and their economic and
financial impacts.
ii. Watch annual
budgets, also from a long-term perspective.
iii. Disclose the
overall impact of the annual budget prior to making
detailed allocations.
iv. Demand independent
evaluation of fiscal policy.
v. Secure parliamentary
and public monitoring of all economic and financial
information.
c. The only way to reduce
the state deficit and increase private investment and
innovation is to dramatically reduce the proportion of
public expenditures. Our aim is to achieve a share of 35%
of GDP by 2010.
d. The system of employees
in the government sector must be systematically reduced.
We will create the necessary will to relieve citizens of
taxes and deductions only if we reduce government
expenditures.
e. Distribution of tax
income between the state, the regions and municipalities
has to be embedded in the financial constitution and
financial settlement among regions. To this end, we have
to devise a clear distinguishing system that for example
allocates indirect taxes to the state and direct taxes to
the regions, as well as a model by which the regions can
impose their own rates of income tax for individuals and
legal entities to a maximum level of 10%.
f. Financial reform must
make the connection between expenditures and taxes more
understandable to citizens. Individual efforts to save
and an economic policy which will bring new tax resources
into the country, care for them and levy on them, must
pay off for the regions.
g. Deregulation,
privatisation and modernisation of the state
administration will free up space for individual
initiative. For this reason, we want to privatise Czech
Airlines, the Czech Postal Service, Czech Railways and
Air Control Center.
h. We want to invest in
construction of roads, waterways and railways in the best
manner and with the best co-ordination.
i. By 2010, we
would like to transform all rail connections between
major Czech cities into high-speed routes.
ii. We must create
optimal interconnections between individual
transportation carriers - railways, roads and
airports.
iii. We will use the
opportunities presented by technical progress to make
our transportation system safer, more environmentally
sensitive and more efficient.
iv. Modern information,
communication and management (telematic) systems can
improve the overload on transportation routes,
optimise transport processes and contribute to
decreasing the number of accidents.
i. A state that serves the
citizen cannot exist without a well-functioning public
administration. For this reason a professional
bureaucracy remains irreplaceable for fulfilment of
top-level tasks. We want to take measures to create a
public administration that is generally more productive,
flexible and efficient.
j. We want to retain the
option of making exceptions to overly strict legal
regulations in justified cases.
IX. We Will Secure
Opportunities and Good Prospects - For a Successful Future
and Self-confidence of Every Generation
The politics of THE PATH
OF CHANGE must not remain mere words. Thus we consider it
vitally important to adopt social measures that support
and strengthen the family. A family based on stable
co-habitation of a man and a woman is the climax of human
relations, solidarity and love. The basic principles of
social policies, and particularly employment policy, need
to be applied in new forms, primarily to the family. If
we want to secure the highest employment rate possible,
we will need new companies that will create new labour
markets. People must be given the opportunity to
implement their life plans, even in independent
income-earning activity. In human life, work means more
than a chance to earn income - work brings a feeling of
personal achievement and continually new social contacts
and it adds meaning and perspective. Therefore we must
define anew even the social sphere: social is that which
creates job opportunities.
a. In a liberal market
democracy, not only the state but also parties of
collective bargaining assume responsibility for
unemployment. An employment-oriented policy of tariffs is
a precondition for more jobs.
b. Our working life is
becoming more diverse and differentiated. A traditional
full-time job has not been the only standard for some
time. Many people seek part-time work. Job opportunities
must be accessible to everyone, also through creation of
community service employment - for the less qualified and
for people in crisis threatened by long-term
unemployment.
c. Services are a key
factor for higher employment. We have a significant
shortfall in the areas of household services, commerce,
catering, tourism and health care. Yet the opportunities
are almost unlimited. We could create up to half a
million jobs with an optimal density of
services.
d. Public service
facilities have to lead the offensive in services with
longer opening hours, better availability, shorter
response times and other customer-oriented
properties.
e. We support independent
income-earning activities focused on development of
crafts.
f. It would be appropriate
to eliminate income tax for newly established firms and
business owners so that they may create their own capital
and reserves as quickly as possible. For small
businesses, contractual employment must be introduced and
protection against notice must be relaxed so as personnel
needs can be adapted to the economic situations of newly
established companies, thus securing their
survival.
g. We must attract more
people and firms to the founding capital market in the
years to come. It is necessary to make it easier for new
companies to enter the stock exchange and to accept
equity capital. We want to remove many bureaucratic
barriers and thus accelerate planning and decision-making
processes.
h. There should be a
standard study program on company establishment offered
at universities.
i. We will found
information and broker stock exchanges so that companies
seeking funds are able to quickly establish contacts with
prospective investors. We want to create an innovative
environment stimulating enterprise which has quality
ideas, diligence, courage and hope.
j. For many mid-sized
companies the introduction of our concept of
economic-political reform, mainly comprehensive tax
reform, will become a matter of life and death. Moreover,
we will relieve small enterprise of senseless
expenditures of time and effort by eliminating excessive
bureaucratic burdens. Therefore as a first step we will
support increases to employees' wages and contributions
to savings that will be used for company creation of
capital.
X. We Will Complete European
Unity - For the Lives and Security of All of the People of
this Country
We live in a time of
tremendous changes. Economic, technical, cultural,
ecological and political changes are occurring at such a
rapid pace that it is very difficult to predict the type
of world in which we will live in 10 or 20 years. Thus we
must grasp the rudder that will direct our boat into the
future. The Czech Republic must take steps so that it is
successful in the upcoming millennium. Globalisation of
the economy has decreased nations' ability to take
responsibility for the welfare of their citizens. More
and more decisions are made on an international level. If
we want to keep pace with Europe, we must participate in
this decision-making process and become a member of the
EU. Concrete benefits will become apparent in security
policy as well. The accession of Central and Eastern
European states to the EU also signals an adequate
response to new security risks in regard to membership in
NATO. If the assumption that globalisation along with
knowledge and technologies will play a decisive role in
the development of the Czech Republic and Europe in the
third millennium is correct, then those societies and
individuals who best prepare for these elements will be
successful.
EUROPEAN INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION SOCIETY
a. We will be able to once
again successfully defend and expand a top position in
international competition only if our goods and services
are top-level products. Thus one of our priorities is
support of key technologies: information and
communication technology, environmental and
transportation technology, Nan technology and new
materials.
b. Formation of an
information society is currently a priority task not only
for the Czech Republic but also for the entire developed
world. We support thorough implementation of the eEurope+
plan and to that end, plan to strive to fulfil the
following principles and goals:
i. Citizens, businesses
and state administration bodies need to gain easy access
to modern telecommunication networks and services
accessible through these networks.
ii. Researchers and
students must be given the opportunity to connect to
high-speed data networks so that new opportunities for
instruction and research open up for them.
a. We realise
that one of the most important tasks of the private
sector and state administration in upcoming years will
be developing users' trust in electronic
commerce.
b. We vigorously
support the project to connect all Czech schools to
the Internet.
c. Alongside general
support of use of the Internet in the school system
and in science, we will strive to increase the number
of experts in information and communication
technologies and electronic commerce in the Czech
Republic.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR
EUROPE
c. We have a vision for a
successful future for Europe: a continent that is
competitive in trade and industry, capable of action in
issues of common security and defence, and flexible in
its institutions. We are aware that European integration
will not proceed by itself. People must be convinced that
European unity will bring them benefits. For this reason
we support accession of the Czech Republic to the
European Union without a referendum to prevent one
generation from deciding on the future of the Czech
Republic to the detriment of all subsequent
generations.
d. The end of the Cold War
did not bring definitive peace, not even in Europe. On
the contrary, we live in a world where numerous new,
different and unknown dangers have emerged, such as the
invisible threat of international terrorism. Organised
crime, drugs and other criminality are crossing European
borders to a greater and greater extent. Various
environmental crises, migration of inhabitants and other
features require joint action in Europe. Therefore there
is no qualitative, realistic alternative to European
integration.
e. We must develop our
agricultural policy such that our farmers and rural
inhabitants have prospects that are feasible in the
long-term. This can be implemented only with a sense of
cohesion and more national and particularly regional
responsibility.
SECURITY IN EUROPE
f. Strengthening the
foreign policy capabilities of the European Union is of
crucial importance. We, the Europeans, still live in
borrowed security to a large extent. The recent events in
the former Yugoslavia were painful evidence of this
fact.
g. THE PATH OF CHANGE is a
party of European unity and solidarity. It is in the time
of critical changes that reliable partnerships have
invaluable significance. Above all, the United States is
such a partner for us. We cannot forget what the USA did
for world peace and freedom in Europe in the past fifty
years.
h. Europeans and Americans
constitute a single cultural community and can rely on
each other in good or bad times. Nothing can underline
this fact more powerfully than the successful history of
NATO. NATO guarantees our security and must remain the
anchor of stability even in our altered
environment.
i. The state's defence
policy and military strategy have to be "living"
documents flexibly responding to future development in
the area of state security as well as armed forces. The
defence policy and military strategy of the state will be
amended, and thus updated, every second year by law. The
documents will also identify needs of the state in the
context of current political needs.
j. These documents show
how to erect the basic state security pillar in all of
its areas. This includes not only the area of internal
armed forces, but also the state's capabilities in
foreign affairs and diplomacy, industry, finance,
agriculture, transportation, etc. The fundamentals of
these documents will be the following:
i. The Czech
Republic must aspire to a more prestigious position in
Central Europe than it has had to date, drawing on its
tradition in the military, capabilities of its
armament industry, as well as its international
status.
ii. Military service is
a service for the state - the state has to consider
the army a national treasure and care for it
properly.
iii. We must create
conditions so that the army has quality training along
with modern equipment.
iv. Our aim is to build
up a fully professional army. The process has to be
accompanied by a deep analysis of all aspects related
to building up professional armed forces. We deem it
feasible to build up a professional army in 8 - 10
years, i.e. by 2010. We will take the first step in
this election period by shortening the term of
national service to 9 months and in the following
election period to 6 months.
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