Tomio Okamura, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and leader of the SPD movement, said in an interview with the Aktuálně.cz website on 27 October 2026 that he would agree to a proposal to abolish Czech Television and Czech Radio. According to him, he is not attached to the existence of public service media financed from public funds, and the governing coalition does not want to influence them. “If anyone proposes abolishing Czech Television and Czech Radio, I will be for it,” Okamura said.[1][2]
Martin Kupka's reaction
Martin Kupka, leader of ODS, wrote on Facebook that Okamura's statement did not surprise him. In Kupka's view, without public service media there would be more room for manipulation and “Kremlin propaganda”, and the statement is evidence of the governing majority's effort to weaken these media.[1][2]
Background
In the night to Saturday 24 October 2026, the governing coalition of ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě sent to second reading in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic a bill that transfers the financing of Czech Television and Czech Radio to the state and abolishes the radio and television licence fee. The opposition calls it an attack on the independence of public service media. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) maintains that statutory funding will give the media greater security and independence; Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř (for Motoristé sobě) called financing from the state budget a common European solution.[1][2]
The plan faces criticism from rectors and students of universities, churches, theatres and other cultural institutions. At a demonstration on Sunday 25 October, thousands of people filled Old Town Square in Prague; the Million Moments for Democracy association has called another protest for 15 November at Letná in Prague.[1][2]
Chronology
- — Tomio Okamura, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and chairman of the SPD movement, said in an interview with Aktuálně.cz on 27 October 2026 that he would agree with a proposal to abolish Czech Television and Czech Radio, and ODS chairman Martin Kupka described his words as a sign of an effort to weaken public service media. ČTK / České noviny Seznam Zprávy