Speech of the Prime Minister of the CR, Mirek Topolánek on the occasion of opening ceremony at CEVRO Institute in Prague on 1st November 2006

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased I can make a short speech here today. I am very delighted because opening of a new university is always an extraordinary day. All the more so, when new possibilities for studying are opening thanks to private initiative. Moreover, it is purely Czech initiative. It is evidence of our advancement of building free society after November 1989.

The time period after November was characterized by development of private enterprise. We mastered the first phase of transformation. The capitalistic machinery is operating and it bears witness to very creditable growth, growth, which has started, and which continues regardless to long-term ineffective political administration and present instability. We are at higher phase now. We are at a phase, during which activities of citizens are not aimed only at projects that are going to bring immediate profit, but at projects, which are aimed at higher level.

Your university – and I want to sincerely congratulate you on successful accomplishment of your project – is evidence that capitalism is not equal to egoism. This false equation had been hammered into our heads for many years. And some people would like to hammer it into our heads again. And you stuck up for yourselves. You stuck up for yourselves, because you know that capitalism equals to freedom. Freedom of possession, as well as freedom of research. Freedom of working and freedom of using fruits of one's work, whether they are fruits of material or spiritual character.

I know plenty of you who participated in this project. And I know that freedom is a leading life's value for us. If somebody wanted to reproach you for serving to one concrete ideology, then I am saying frankly: there is nothing to be ashamed of. Ideology of freedom should be common for all solid people. If it is not so, if there are some people among us who prefer ideology of non-freedom, let them establish their own university. It is their freedom. I just hope that they would do it using their own money and not public money.

When I was speaking on ineffective political administration, then I believe that just universities of your type may do something about it in the future. We need educated people. We need professional political scientists and expert in the sphere of state administration. We need more people with excellent performance in public administration than we have nowadays. Because high-quality education – and I would say – upgrading – works as a brake of roughening of public life, a brake of effusions of irrationality and short-sightedness.

What a pity I am no longer at school, I would let cultivate myself a bit without hesitation right now.

Without doubt, there will be number of those, who will use this new opportunity to educate themselves. I can just promise that I will try to make conditions for financing of education better and more equal than they are nowadays. Just go on, more private schools and, of course, more private money. In early nineties we managed to open doors for private grammar schools – and many of them belong to the most quality ones. I believe that also CEVRO Institute will rank among the most prestige education institution.

I wish you success and thank you for your attention.