Why is Bursík pulling our leg?

Even small children in the Czech Republic know what President Václav Klaus thinks about global warming. But what the coalition government thinks about this hot topic remains a mystery – especially how it wants to tackle it.

We have a stance, Deputy PM Martin Bursík (Greens) proudly proclaimed into journalists' microphones recently. Asked what that stance was, Bursík referred to the EU summit in March, when PM Mirek Topolánek raised his hand in support of the EU commitment to cut 1990-level carbon-dioxide emissions 20% by 2020 and raise the amount of energy from renewable sources to 20% (currently 4% of energy in the Czech Republic comes from renewables). However, these common EU goals do not represent the official position of the Czech Republic with regard to global warming.

A position arises when someone frames it, and no one has done that here. PM Topolánek raised his hand for the emissions cut and the growth in the use of renewable resources, but he did not disclose his personal opinion on climate change, or how seriously his ministers take the problem. That might not seem so important, but the opposite is true.

This is particularly true when Bursík is calling for citizens to behave with more environmental consideration and to impose restraints on ourselves. How can he make such demands when people do not know what the cabinet actually thinks of…