Sedláčková: I consider Woke progressivism to be the political religion of the 21st century

The beauty of democracy is that virtually every parliamentary election brings out a new political party or movement. In such a new party, there are then several new faces. One of them is undoubtedly Gabriela Sedláčková, who in the autumn became a Member of Parliament for the Motorists for Ourselves party.

Although she has only recently appeared in the political arena, her professional career has been varied and dynamic. Already in 2015, she co-founded the Behind the Curtain bar in Prague's Žižkov district. At the beginning of 2021, she joined the Society for the Defence of Freedom of Expression and participated in its functioning.

A year later, she was at the birth of VOX TV, an internet television station, where she gradually became a presenter and director of journalism. On this platform, she presents several programmes, including After the Harvest to Turk with the now former MEP and current MEP colleague Filip Turk.

Sedláčková represents a new type of politician who grew up on social networks and is not afraid to go against the clichés of liberal democracy. Her political style, on the contrary, is much more reflective of the current transformation of the Western world. So what can we expect from this new political trend in the Czech Republic?

I. Politics and the Motorists themselves

This year's elections have brought great fragmentation. What do you think their outcome says about the state of Czech politics?

The fragmentation of politics is similar across Western civilisation, it is not specific to the Czech political scene. For example, look at the recent parliamentary elections in the Netherlands, or what is happening in the United Kingdom. There, the popularity of both Labour and the Conservatives is falling; on the contrary, Reform UK is rising. The Greens, but also other parties, are claiming the floor against them. In the US, despite bipartisanship, they are arguing within the two parties themselves. With the Democrats, the socialists are claiming power; with the Republicans, on the other hand, the various currents within the MAGA movement are squabbling.

This tells us that although society is split roughly in two, the situation is crystallizing in each half. And that simply won't happen without prior fragmentation. (Steve Davies gave a talk on this particular realignment of politics years ago. I recommend his video "Are we in the middle of a political realignment".)

The increasing splintering and polarization, as the two main currents of opinion continually move away from each other, causes many things. And it is fair to say that this is largely amplified by the media, which, as a result of the long-standing "march of the institutions", has so far been rather one-sided. This handicap is slowly being overcome in America. While in the US the alternative media already outweighs the mainstream media, here the mainstream is still trusted by a large majority of citizens.

Was it a surprise for you personally that you got into parliament? Were you really expecting almost seven percent?

Yes. I admit openly that I expected 6.5 per cent, judging by the reaction of voters on the streets. I really campaigned in my region. I travelled and got to know the six districts and I am grateful for my participation in the House to those voters who were not afraid to confide their problems in me and were willing to discuss them with me, to find a solution together. It is very important for me not to betray their trust.

That is why I will also go to the various committees on which I am not a member, to make sure that they are dealing with the essential things for my region that I have promised to deal with. For example, the Budget Committee is currently meeting regularly. There, many millions have to be settled for the floods, which have not yet been delivered to the citizens of Javorník and Jeseník, even though they were promised them. Fortunately, it is my colleague, Mr Pikora, who is in charge of the budget committee, and I am already beginning to work intensively with him on the details.

The motorists themselves have an unconventional name and approach. If you had to say in one sentence what this party stands for, what would it be?

As I don't have a driving licence myself, the name of the party for which I am in the House of Commons is a symbol of 'freedom'. The car stands for freedom of movement and independence.

Can the Motorists even be described by the classic labels of right-wing-left-wing party, or is the Conservative-Progressive divide more apt for them?

I'm afraid that neither division is enough. We still need to add another axis: globalists versus localists. However, this is too complex a debate for the average voter who does not follow politics from morning to night. What the people on the streets wanted to know was whether we were going to destroy our industry and plunge our republic into poverty as a result of the Green Deal and similar commitments by the European Union.

Incidentally, I recently spoke on a panel at the Conservative Summit in Bratislava about the impact of ETS2 on families and the economy and how much more expensive it will make their ordinary lives. I think that the Motorists' Party is the party of realistic politics.

As a former member of the Conservative Party, you had a certain values anchorage. Isn't it a contradiction to stand for a party that is clearly different from the traditional conception of politics?

On the contrary. The most conservative policy here at the moment is really being pushed by the Motorists. Although many of my colleagues are rather liberal, the individual actions that the Motorists have had the opportunity to show so far are really the closest to my values. They do not shy away from Christianity; on the contrary, they recognise that our civilisation stands on Christian foundations. From time to time I meet with my colleagues in church for prayers, for masses. They are fighting for the sovereignty of the Czech Republic. They are willing to denounce obedience to the European Union where necessary. And we all consider woke progressivism to be the political religion of the 21st century.

Aren't the Motorists just another protest party that has arisen in response to a particular issue, in this case the Green Deal? What happens when this issue runs out of steam?

Far from it. The Green Deal was a major issue for us in the run-up to the European elections, quite logically, because it was my colleague, Mr Turk, who managed to raise awareness of many of the vices of the European Union and to put the brakes on some things. In fact, it was in our programme After the Harvest to the Turk that we talked about this in great detail. Perhaps that is why we may be seen as a 'reactionary party'. That this is not the case will perhaps be demonstrated very quickly by our successive actions in the House of Commons. After all, already during the election campaign, we were each communicating a topic that was our expertise.

I spoke in the televised debates mostly on the topics of: free speech, non-profits, culture wars, culture. My colleague Vojtěch Krňanský, on the other hand, dealt mainly with the development of local governments, the IRS and housing issues. My colleague Matěj Gregor dealt with education and together we then focused on intergenerational communication. My colleague Boris Št'astný spoke about health and prevention. I like the fact that the President, Petr Macinka, has decided to bring experts back into politics, and where we were lacking among the candidates, we have supplemented them with external experts who have been close to us so far, such as Pavel Janeček on energy or Jan Zahradil on foreign policy.

As soon as you enter parliament, you are heading for government as a party. Do you fear that the Public Affairs scenario could repeat itself, i.e. a rapid rise and an equally rapid fall?

Of course I am worried, it would be unnatural not to be. Courage does not mean not having fears, but overcoming them. And my colleagues are as honest workers as I am. I believe that the work behind us will be seen, and soon. My concern is more about the media and how they will (mis)present our results in a targeted way or how they will manipulatively distort them. Then it will be up to us. But when you have to do politics and still substitute reporting, it slows you down in your work.

Joining the government also means working with Andrej Babiš. Historically, this has not been advantageous for his partners. How are you going to secure it?

We have to be uncompromising in government cooperation on things that are "no-train-for-us", such as the vigorous rejection of the Green Deal or the euro. But, of course, we and our voters have to realise that we got less than seven per cent, while Andrej Babiš and his party got more than 30 per cent. Once we have almost half the electorate, we can push for much more of what we promised in the programme, and in this way, of course, we will have to compromise on the issues on which we differ somewhat with our coalition partners.

So far, however, I am very pleasantly surprised that the agreements have not been very loss-making for us. Our 'let's watch Babiš' on the billboards meant, above all, that ANO is a 'catch all party' and we will steer him to the right. Especially in our approach to tradesmen and business.

II. The Turek case and the personal level

The affair around Filip Turek's digital past overshadowed the first days after the elections. You were the person in charge of deleting his online profile. Where do you think the mistake was made?

To set the record straight: the profile should have been deleted by a professional who has been dealing with political communication for a long time and professionally, I was just one of those who was involved. Normally, when entering politics, the old profile is deleted and replaced with a new one. We said we had nothing to be ashamed of and wanted to remain authentic.

As a Christian and socially conservative woman, I approach things differently from Philip, who is more liberal and has a different type of humour. That's why he asked me to look at his "dumb jokes" and evaluate what might be over the edge in today's hyper-correct society. I sought out a few of those and deleted them. I didn't see the posts then published by the Daily N. So either they are still there, or someone else deleted them, or Turek didn't write them at all.

In my opinion, the mistake was made in principle in the fact that we, as a society, have admitted to judging people by posts on social networks, especially by posts that are many years old. Social networks are not media, they are platforms. It is therefore something of a virtual pub. I ran a bar for many years, and know that I would never want to drill back into anything that ever goes down in a pub. These things can't be judged ahistorically, they're taken out of context. To me the whole affair seems like a horribly inflated bubble and I think only a few shouty people, including the media, are concerned with it. They have decided to create a moral panic which simply means that the Turk must not be allowed to get away with it.

How have you personally handled the public pressure? You are not unknown to supporters of the Motorists, but the wider public may have only noticed you in this case.

I've already experienced a few disciplines. I have been involved with the Society for the Defence of Freedom of Expression since the beginning, which has also caused quite a bit of controversy. I am glad for the four years of experience, because I have already built up a 'thick skin', as they say. Most of the people who criticise me do not criticise me through arguments, but through silly and frivolous labels, often ad hominem ones that hint at appearances. In such cases, the most I can think of is something about the pettiness of the author of the insult, and that's the end of it for me.

III. Women, values and personal identity

There is a lot of talk in European politics about quotas for women. You have succeeded without them. How do you feel about gender quotas?

I jokingly call them quo-quo-quotas. Because they offend me as a woman. I am capable enough to outperform men with my skills and abilities, as evidenced by Peter Macinka choosing me as one of the 14 leaders. If I had got into the House on the basis of a ringing campaign, whether because of age, gender or both, I would actually be there all the time wondering if I had outperformed someone more capable on the basis of identity, and I would probably have found it difficult to work.

This achievement of woke progressivism is a dead end of development and parasitic on democracy and individual freedom.

You come across as a woman who has a clear style and confident demeanor. Is this a personal nature or a conscious way of communicating your identity?

I'm glad you see it that way. But it's not something that is new to me with entering politics. In my view, one only grows up when one realises that one has to take responsibility for one's own life. Personally, it didn't happen to me at eighteen, but quite a bit later... And then one has the need to form "order in the chaos", to understand certain things, including archetypal stories from the Bible, historical stories.

With that comes style and demeanor. Perhaps just on fashion style: for several years I helped Mrs. Eliška Hašek-Coolidge to organize etiquette courses. She is a former assistant to five US presidents and a true professional. She taught me a lot.

IV. Slovakia and Czech-Slovak relations

You were born in Moravia, which is naturally closer to Slovakia than to the Czech Republic. What is your personal relationship to Slovakia?

For me it is specific in that I have family in eastern Slovakia, so very close. I am fascinated by the fact that Slovaks are often closer to me in their opinions, temperament and actions than Czechs. But it's logical. After all, even some of the Haná words that the Prague people don't understand are actually similar to the Slovak ones.

In recent years, Czech-Slovak relations have become strained. How do you see their future at a time when the Motorists are entering government politics?

The foreign policy of our outgoing government and Minister Lipavský was really trivial, especially as far as the V4 is concerned. The way they, in collaboration with the media, have turned nations that until recently were one nation against each other has made me very sad. We need to start working immediately on the renewal of the V4, on cooperation in Central Europe, on a strategic partnership with the US. The previous government has also named this, but it has not translated it into action.

There is no natural counterpart to the Motorists on the Slovak political scene. Nevertheless, do you see any party, movement or personality with whom you could imagine cooperation or to whom you are close in terms of values?

I admit that I don't follow Slovak politics enough to answer with certainty here. That is why I will digress from the question a little bit and maybe I will even please you personally. I perceive that the group of people who are closest to me in terms of their opinions are those who hang around media like the Standard or Marker. Independent media in Slovakia is as important as it is here.

For example, from the people around such projects, who seek the truth, defend the sovereignty of Slovakia and are not afraid of the word "patriotism", the right foundation for a future movement may emerge.