WHAT'S ON BRITSKÉ LISTY

No Women in the Government Negotiation Teams?

3. 6. 2010 / Michaela Appeltová

Why the party leaders are not using the expertise and experience of the women in their parties? Are they by any chance less competent, in terms of communication skills or in their specialization, in comparison with their male colleagues?

Besides that, the party leaders are (again) ignoring the will of voters who sent 14 women to the parliament using preferential votes. And the next parliament will have the highest amount of female members in its history: almost one fourth of the lower house. Where is the pre-election declarations about women candidates, which ended up catching many voters?

The situation is alarming still from yet another reason: very often it is from among the members of the negotiating team that future ministers are recruited. All parties involved vehemently claim that the current discussions have as an objective solely to find an agreement deal among their programs and that who will take which post will be decided much later.

So, if the party leaders didn't see women as not competent enough to be part of the discussions about the formation of a government coalition, will those leaders "have balls" to choose women for ministerial positions?

We will have to wait to see the concrete actions of this newly elected parties, but already now it is more or less evident that women will have to fight a lot for their place in the political arena.

Besides the critically low participation of women in the negotiating table that is trying to form a coalition it is also unacceptable the way Krystýna Kočí has been portrayed in the media: as a young "girl" or "blonde", who allowed herself to be photographed, before the elections, for some calendar. The fact that also David Vodrážka allowed himself to be photographed even in "speedos" or that the qualifications of Radek John to be a parliamentarian are just his experience as a journalist is what the media should focus on.

Kočí studied in the prestigious Paris Institute of Political Sciences and she has experience from working in the Czech lower house. To portray her as a "stupid blonde" is simply not fair.

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