How to Make a Change in Latin America? A few tentative remarks

English Pages, 18. 3. 2018

It is enormous pleasure and honour for me to be with all of you here this evening. Many thanks for bringing me to Guatemala and for giving me the extraordinary opportunity to address this very important gathering and such a distinguished international audience.

Let me start with mentioning that this is already my second visit to Guatemala. My first visit here was very brief, only one day and night.

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Environment, Liberty and Global Warming Alarmism

English Pages, 14. 3. 2018

Ladies and gentlemen,

many thanks for the invitation and for the organization of this gathering. It is great to be in Guatemala after so many years and to see the visible changes.

As regards the topic of this evening, it is interesting to see your country as it looks like in the era of the so called destructive, human beings endangering global warming.

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Is Our Membership in the EU a Real Blessing?

English Pages, 21. 2. 2018

Many thanks for the invitation and for offering me the unique opportunity to present my views at your university. I feel really honoured by it. Hungary is geographically not far-away from the Czech Republic, Budapest is not far-away from Prague, I am speaking permanently all over the world, but I have never made a speech at the Corvinus University. I have to add – probably. I am not sure about it. I have a feeling that I delivered a lecture at the Karl Marx University of Economic Sciences, your predecessor, more than two decades ago but I was not able to find a proof of it. It was in the pre-internet era.

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Introductory remarks to the presentation of the book “Népvándorlás” (Mass migration) in Budapest

English Pages, 21. 2. 2018

Many thanks for bringing us to Budapest and for organizing today´s presentation of our book devoted to the issue of mass migration. Both of us, Dr. Weigl and me, would like to express our gratitude to the Századvég School of Politics Foundation which made the publication of this book in Hungarian possible. We would like to thank especially Dr. Szabo for spending so much time with us in recent weeks and months.

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Mass Migration as an Amplifier of All Well-known European Problems: Notes for Innsbruck

English Pages, 19. 1. 2018

Many thanks for the invitation. I am really glad to be here again. I remember quite well the moment, the atmosphere as well as the blue skies over Innsbruck when I was here last time three years ago.

Then, I spoke mostly about Europe, not specifically about my own country, about the Czech Republic, and it will not be much different today. This doesn´t mean that I am not interested in my own country´s fate, or perhaps that I have nothing to say about it.

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Introductory remarks to the presentation of the Book “Migration des peoples” in Paris

English Pages, 8. 12. 2017

Let me, first, express my gratitude to Ambassador Gandalovič for the organization of this early morning gathering. And, let me thank all of you for accepting his invitation and for joining us here.

I would like to use this opportunity for saying a few words about my short book “Migration des peoples” which was published this year by Harmattan. I wrote it together with my long-term colleague Jiří Weigl. This book, originally published in Czech, has already eight editions in foreign languages. I am very glad that in France as well.

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Let´s not give up fighting climate alarmism, it is never late!

English Pages, 7. 12. 2017

Ladies and gentlemen,

many thanks for the invitation and for the possibility to participate in this important gathering. It is great to be in France after many years and to see Paris as it looks in the era of mass migration.

I travel abroad almost permanently, but not to France. I don´t know whether it is my fault or something else. It may be partly caused by my inability to speak French, something I consider a great deficiency of mine, partly by the evident discrepancy between my views and the mainstream French thinking.

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Notes for Bologna: Soviet Communism is Finished. What about Freedom?

English Pages, 3. 12. 2017

Presidente Nucci, Rettore Ubertini, Presidente Trifirò, professors, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

it is a great pleasure and honour for me to be in your historic city. It is an honour to get both the Premio Impegno Civico and la Medaglia d´onore dell´Accademia delle Scienze. I am really pleased to have the extraordinary opportunity to address this distinguished audience in such a beautiful hall, in questa sala tanto bella.

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Economic (and Political) Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe: The Czech Experience

English Pages, 2. 12. 2017

Many thanks for the invitation, my thanks for suggesting an interesting and still highly relevant topic for my today´s presentation, many thanks for bringing me to Forli. I have never been here.

I am coming from the Czech Republic which – two weeks ago – celebrated the 28^th anniversary of the fall of communism. I stress this already non-negligible number of years because I know that the students assembled here were born several years after this historic moment. For me, however, it is not a prehistory, it is a part of my life.

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Notes for Astana: Brexit and the Growth of Populism in Europe: A Disclaimer

English Pages, 13. 11. 2017

Let me start with saying that I don´t like the term populism and don´t find it helpful and productive. And I disagree with discussing Europe as the continent of populism. Is what we see in Europe now populism or is it a democratic rebellion against political elites (and against post-democracy)? This is the question which should be raised and seriously, not politically-correctly, answered. My answer to this question will be evident after my presentation.

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