You cannot have democratic accountability in anything bigger than a nation state. Vaclav Klaus More Quotes by Vaclav Klaus More Quotes From Vaclav Klaus The message of [Fahernheit 9/11] is very weak and propagandistic ... We were used to such messages in the communist days. Everybody has open eyes and can understand that this is propaganda. It was a weak film that tells us nothing new. Vaclav Klaus politicseyemessages Then in 1969, I spent the spring term at Cornell University in New York. The invasion of August 1968 had already happened, but the hardline regime took several months to crack down on dissidents. Vaclav Klaus augustnew-yorkspring People like me who were engaging in brinkmanship with the party economic bosses and the open dissidents who were being arrested were pursuing a common goal in different ways. Vaclav Klaus partygoalpeople It is what makes the reform process an art, not just a science. You have to develop a strategy that tells you what reform measures you should follow and in what sequence. Vaclav Klaus strategyreformart Climate alarmists believe in their own omnipotency, in knowing better than millions of rationally behaving men and women what is right or wrong, in the possibility to give adequate instructions to hundreds of millions of individuals and institutions and the resulting compliance or non-compliance of those who are supposed to follow these instructions. Vaclav Klaus knowingmenbelieve I also helped write the five-page statement of principles that Civic Forum issued in late November. That was the first public expression of what the new government wanted to do. Vaclav Klaus governmentexpressionwriting Other top-level politicians do not express their global warming doubts because a whip of political correctness strangles their voice. Vaclav Klaus politicalvoicedoubt Communism was replaced by the threat of ambitious environmentalism. Vaclav Klaus threatambitiouscommunism To talk about planning an economic system is to talk in old terms, and I find myself sometimes having to teach Westerners about what the market really means. Vaclav Klaus planningteachingmean I'm convinced that after years of studying the phenomenon, global warming is not the real issue of temperature. That is the issue of a new ideology or a new religion. A religion of climate change or a religion of global warming. This is a religion which tells us that the people are responsible for the current, very small increase in temperatures. And they should be punished. Vaclav Klaus issuesrealyears Human relations tend to be more difficult when you're dealing with someone who weighs 30 kilograms more than you do. That's when you worry about whether a well-meaning gesture could produce complications. We have no problems with countries like Madagascar or Bolivia, for example. But Germany is our neighbor and we have a shared past. Besides, Germany is powerful and ambitious and more than four times as large as we are. It makes complete sense that we would act cautiously. It's simply Realpolitik. Vaclav Klaus powerfulcountrypast But how can you speed up the transformation of society in a country as large as Russia? Those sounding the moral outcry are the ones who are trying to dictate their standards from the outside. Of course, that isn't the right way to go either. One cannot impose democracy from the other side of national borders, which is something we ourselves experienced during the communist era. The West's policies toward Eastern Europe, the Helsinki process - none of that really helped us. Vaclav Klaus russiaeuropecountry I never intended to be a politician or office-seeker. Vaclav Klaus seekerspoliticianoffice By the time I returned to Czechoslovakia, I had an understanding of the principles of the market. Vaclav Klaus pragueunderstandingprinciples My main concern is the political dimension of European integration. This is one of the most important issues of all, as far as I'm concerned. It has to do with our past, with our sensitivity, perhaps even our hypersensitivity in this regard. Vaclav Klaus issuespoliticalpast EU expansion is, unfortunately, continuing without a constitution, as a gradual process of standardization - and that's far more dangerous. It is very difficult to slow down this process, which is being pushed forward without significant public participation. Vaclav Klaus significantexpansionconstitution I was 25 years old and pursuing my doctorate in economics when I was allowed to spend six months of postgraduate studies in Naples, Italy. I read the Western economic textbooks and also the more general work of people like Hayek. By the time I returned to Czechoslovakia, I had an understanding of the principles of the market. In 1968, I was glad at the political liberalism of the Dubcek Prague Spring, but I was very critical of the Third Way they pursued in economics. Vaclav Klaus springpeopleyears That means following a very restrictive fiscal and monetary policy which will squeeze the monopolies and cut their subsidies. On the micro level we will allow other economic agents, both domestic and foreign, to compete with them. Vaclav Klaus competewilleconomicpolicy Privatization of the state-owned economy is not yet on the agenda. We cannot do it immediately; my colleagues would not agree to it. But we must put all forms of ownership on an equal footing immediately and let different types of ownership compete with the state firms. Vaclav Klaus cannotcolleaguesequaldifferent We must have the time to create strict rules so that property is not sold by Communist managers for a low price. They often get payments under the table to sell to the first bidder. This does not build public support for a market economy. 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