Figure 1: Czech president Václav Klaus in a commercial: "You can do anything after graduating - go for the best!"
President to Welcome Czech Republic President Klaus to Washington
- President Bush will welcome President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic to the White House on March 8. The Czech Republic is a close friend and ally of the United States. It remains a staunch member of the Coalition that brought freedom to Iraq and Afghanistan, and a strong NATO ally. The President and President Klaus will discuss transatlantic priorities, Iraq, the advance of democracy in Eastern Europe and the broader Middle East, and other key global issues during their meeting.
That was news from the White House; see also the picture of Klaus and Bush in Brussels. Václav Klaus is the father of the Czechoslovak economic reforms after 1989. Klaus is a soulmate of Margaret Thatcher and Milton Friedman. In the domestic context, he has been the most visible Czech and Czechoslovak politician after the Velvet Revolution. He is considered to be one of the brightest European politicians of the current era and is known as an outspoken Eurosceptic. Today in Dallas, Klaus released his new book
- On the Road to Democracy: The Czech Republic from Communism to Free Society
Although the Czech Republic was a part of the anti-Saddam coalition and provided the coalition with a few troops, Klaus himself did not support the war. The most problematic was Klaus's debate with the U.S. ambassador Craig Stapleton at a March 28, 2003 meeting. According to some sources, Klaus speculated that if the weapons of mass destruction would be found in Iraq, he would believe they were planted. Stapleton was probably upset. But Klaus argues that all this tension has already evaporated.
