Jiří Paroubek

Jiří Paroubek? / I [ Jiri paroubɛk ː ] ( born August 21, 1952 in Olomouc ) is a Czech politician. He was from 2005 to 2006 and Prime Minister of his country from 2006 to 2010 President of the Socialist party CSSD. Since November 2011 he has been Chairman of the People's Socialists - Left of the 21st century.

Life

After completion of the Economic University of Prague in 1976, he held senior executive in several companies in business administration. From 1991, he worked as an independent business consultant small and medium enterprises. Since 1993 he has been editor of the social democratic Czech Trend magazine.

Paroubek has a son ( born 1984 ) and also speaks German and English. In July 2007 Paroubek announced a divorce from his wife, Zuzana. He married shortly afterwards the interpreter Petra Kováčová.

Policy

Paroubek was from 1970 to 1986 a member of the Czechoslovak Socialist Party, an entity belonging to the National Front Block Party and thus a forerunner of the Populist Socialists. Paroubek held in this party different functions. In November 1989 he joined the re-founded the Social Democratic Party and was elected in 1990 to the General Secretary. A post he gave the following year from back when he started his own business. In 1993 he ran unsuccessfully against Miloš Zeman to the party presidency of the CSSD. In November 1998 he became deputy mayor of Prague and also also Councillor for Finance. In the cabinet of Stanislav Gross 2004 he was Minister for the regions in July.

After Stanislav Gross's resignation as prime minister after only a few months due to a real estate affair on 25 April 2005 appointed President Václav Klaus Paroubek to succeed and he restored immediately before Gross ' resignation apart broken coalition government between the Social Democrats, KDU - CSL and the U.S. - DEU. On 13 May 2006 he was also elected as Gross's successor as chairman of the Social Democratic Party, CSSD.

In the elections for the House of Representatives in June 2006, the CSSD achieved in spite of the previous affairs with Paroubek as top candidates an unexpectedly good result and could even slightly to gain votes, overall they had to but settle for 2nd place behind the ODS and had no majority in favor of the previous coalition government. Paroubek speculated on a tolerated by the communist KSČM continuation of the government of the Social Democrats together with the KDU- CSL. However, since these refused any cooperation with the Communists, this option smashed. Due to a political stalemate between the right and left bearing in Parliament only a collaboration of the Social Democrats with the ODS under its chairman Mirek Topolánek could ensure stable political majorities. The in September 2006 appointed by President Klaus as successor Paroubek's new Prime Minister Topolánek therefore speculated on the conclusion of a treaty with the opposition Social Democrats. However, he could at Paroubek find no support for this project and therefore fell into the confidence in parliament by. It was not until early 2007, then succeeded Mirek Topolánek, thanks to the emergence of two deputies from the Group of the CSSD, but still with the KDU- CSL and the SZ to form a minority government, which was based in Parliament on these become non-attached MEP. Paroubek now had to finally settle for the office of the opposition leader. After several attempts, managed the CSSD to overthrow the government of his adversary in March 2009 by a motion of censure, since now two members of the SZ due to the approval of the Government to the U.S. missile shield and individual the Eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus related deputies of the ODS for the approval Topolanek on the Treaty of Lisbon had terminated the allegiance and of Paroubek initiated no-confidence motion against Topolánek agreed. Czech Republic was then governed by an independent government under Jan Fischer, which was based in the Parliament both on the CSSD as well as on the camp of the previous government. This caretaker government was supposed to officiate only until early elections in October 2009, this early elections were not canceled by the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic as compatible with the Constitution, so that the fishermen government ultimately up to the regular election date at 28-29. Mai first had to officiate.

Before the parliamentary elections of 2010, the CSSD led under Paroubek leadership sovereign all the polls on - especially as the ODS replaced shortly Mirek Topolánek by Petr Necas as top candidates. On election night, the Social Democrats were even re- strongest political force, but compared to the last elections they had over 10 % of the votes lost and there was a clear majority of right-wing parties. She had, therefore, no real power option. Paroubek therefore occurred on election night back from the presidency of the party and was now only back-bencher. On October 7, 2011 Paroubek stepped out, carrying along its mandate from the CSSD, at the same time he announced his re-entry to a leftist small party of the name " Czech National Social Party " ( CSNS ) is known, which assumed its present name after the crossing Paroubek and Paroubek elected its chairman. This party is representing social democratic or socialist positions and sits among other things, higher taxes on high earners and the introduction of the euro a ..

Criticism

In the criticism Jiří Paroubek got through the defense of the controversial actions of the police against visitors to the CzechTek Festival in 2005, where he claimed that the measures were necessary " against provoked by drugs and alcohol wave of violence " and "against the spread of AIDS, jaundice and salmonella " to proceed. He also claimed the visitors of this festival were " no dancing children but dangerous people obsessed with anarchist tendencies ". This is " political, sociological as well as police and intelligence- perfectly documented ."

His behavior in the overthrow of the Topolánek government has been criticized in the Czech public. Because this fall happened during the Czech Presidency of the EU and therefore played particularly the Eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus into the hands of the Topolánek's approval of the Treaty of Lisbon did not appeal. Paroubek was alleged to have operated his personal power interests too recklessly and without regard to the interests of the Republic and the EU. Thanks to the fall was standing at the height of the Great Depression not only the Czech Republic without a functioning government since, also was the Czech Republic because of this fall at EU level disgraced as large as possible.

The decreasing popularity Paroubek particularly among young people led to protests with a series of eggs litters Paroubek and other top officials of the CSSD in the context of campaign events for the European elections in 2009. Finally, the low popularity Paroubek was with the young voters, the reason for the relatively poor performance the CSSD in the parliamentary elections in 2010, as a result, he resigned from the party chairmanship.

Awards

• Wenzel- Jaksch Prize 2007
• Red Bock 2008