Jan Zahradil

Political career

Early political career

From 1990 until 1992, Zahradil was a Member of the Federal Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic. From 1995 until 1997, he was a foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Václav Klaus. In 1998, Zahradil was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, and held that position until 2004.

Zahradil was elected vice-chairman of ODS in 2001 and served as first vice-chairman between 2002 and 2004. In 2002, after the departure of Václav Klaus as leader of ODS, he ran for the leadership, but finished third in the election behind Mirek Topolánek and Petr Nečas. He was also vice-chairman of ODS from 2014 to 2016.

European Parliament

In October 2018, Zahradil announced his intention to become the European Conservatives and Reformists Group's candidate for the European Commission presidency. He was endorsed by the ECR Group on 13 November, making him the first Spitzenkandidat from Eastern Europe. Zahradil has been president of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) since it was founded in 2010.

In 2023, Zahradil resigned as chair of the ODS European parliament group. At the same time, he announced that he would not be a candidate in the European Parliament elections in 2024. He was replaced by MEP Veronika Vrecionová as chair of the ODS parliamentary group, and by Alexandr Vondra as the leader of the ODS candidate list for the European Parliament elections.

One of the reasons for Jan Zahradil's departure from European politics was reported to be the alliance of ODS with the Czech centre-right parties TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL in the Spolu coalition. Zahradil's Eurosceptic views were a potential obstacle to this alliance. He resigned his membership of ODS in 2025.

Azerbaijan Statements

Zahradil made controversial statements whitewashing European Parliament's criticisms on the state of human rights in Azerbaijan, mentioned in three European Parliament resolutions in the period of 2015–2018. He called the resolutions "short-sighted, one-sided, one-issue resolutions" and argued that Azerbaijan is a "victim of political games" asserting that the EU should not sacrifice its partnership with Azerbaijan because of its geopolitical and energy significance for Europe.

In April 2018 a Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe investigation revealed that Azerbaijan blindfolded several members of PACE, bringing into play the infamous caviar diplomacy to tone down and soothe criticism towards Azerbaijan. These members were subjected to sanctions. Commenting on these events, Zahradil said: "The Council of Europe has made unilateral and biased decisions on Azerbaijan and it should be abolished".

Political views

Zahradil has been described as Anglophile, Atlanticist, national liberal and libertarian who holds liberal viewpoints on immigration and same-sex marriage. He is a critic of the Czech monarchists and the Habsburg dynastic family, which ruled the Czech state from 1526 to 1918, because of which in the past he got into a dispute with the Czech Christian Democrats and the Czech Catholic Church. In the post-Babiš premiership era of ODS, his views (e.g. on the European Union, on cooperation with former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš or on the overall concept of politics) can be described as minority, which may be one of the reasons for his planned departure from the European Parliament.

References

References

1. "Jan Zahradil".
2. "Parliament of the Czech Republic, Chamber of Deputies".
3. (15 December 2002). "Oprať ODS převzal Mirek Topolánek". [[Mafra (company).
4. (18 January 2024). "Nový předseda ODS Fiala dostal velmi silný mandát. Druhým mužem strany je Zahradil". [[Czech Radio]].
5. (13 November 2018). "Conservatives endorse Czech MEP for Commission top job".
6. "Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE)".
7. (5 June 2023). "Zahradil jako šéf klubu ODS v europarlamentu končí, kandidovat už nebude". Borgis.
8. "Zahradil po 20 letech skončí v europarlamentu, příští rok nebude kandidovat".
9. (4 May 2024). "Spolu zahájilo kampaň do eurovoleb. Půjde o střet demokratů se stranami jednoho muže, říká Vondra". Borgis.
10. (5 June 2023). "Zahradil jako šéf klubu ODS v europarlamentu končí, kandidovat už nebude". Borgis.
11. (6 June 2018). "EU should engage with Azerbaijan or Putin will".
12. (21 June 2020). "Zahradil: Azerbaijan plays very crucial role in geopolitical transport and energy issues".
13. "Report of the Independent Investigation Body on the allegations of corruption within the Parliamentary Assembly".
14. (21 June 2020). "Zahradil: Council of Europe should stop adoption of biased decisions on Azerbaijan".
15. Hannan, Daniel. (9 March 2011). "Conservatives elect Czech Eurosceptic as their new leader". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
16. Kačmár, Tomáš. "Zahradil ve sporu s lidovci. Opřel se do Duky a monarchie, s Bělobrádkem se pohádal jako ve školce". PrimaTV.
17. (15 August 2020). "Připomíná mu Habsburky. Zahradil demonstroval proti Mariánskému sloupu. Duka sloup požehnal".
18. (14 April 2024). "Odmítaný Zahradil se loučil s ODS. Odcházím na střídačku, řekl a zastal se Babiše". [[Economia]].