The National Library is probably being postponed and is increasingly politicized

Prague - The construction of the new building of the National Library is likely to be postponed and will become a topic of election campaigning ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. This was stated today by the leader of the ČSSD, Jiří Paroubek, and according to media reports, this was also agreed upon on Wednesday by the director of the National Library, Vlastimil Ježek, and the Minister of Culture, Václav Jehlička. The author of the winning proposal, Jan Kaplický, also agrees with this intention and confirmed it to reporters today. Ježek is also expected to meet with Paroubek soon.
    "I don't want to be a bad prophet, but you might have to wait for us, Mr. Architect," Paroubek said, and Kaplický agreed. If the ČSSD forms a government, they are counting on a budget of three to four billion for the construction of the library, and this commitment remains, said Paroubek.
    Ježek is seeking support for the project from all parliamentary parties - according to him, the leadership of the Green Party is accommodating, and the leader of the Christian Democrats said on Wednesday that he would try to find the missing funds for the construction. The daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported that the Christian Democrats are considering Ježek as their candidate for the upcoming Senate elections in the autumn, which Ježek has not yet commented on.
    According to Ježek, Prime Minister Topolánek was aware of the new building project even as an opposition politician, and now Ježek says he is trying to arrange a meeting with him, so far without success. He is not preparing to meet with the Communists, as, according to him, the real power of the KSČM does not exist in today’s politics.
   "If culture is coming into the electoral campaign, that’s a good thing," Kaplický said. The preparation of the construction of the new building, which the NK needs for space reasons, has not been developing in any direction for several months.
    "This is the first positive statement about the National Library in 14 months," the architect stated. "Architecture must stand above political issues," he noted, but added to reporters' questions that he still believes in politicians even after what has happened in the past year. "I must, architecture is always connected with politics, sometimes more, sometimes less. This is a state project, and these are state funds," he added. Last autumn, the Prague ODS suddenly expressed opposition to the project, shortly before President Václav Klaus did the same. While Mayor Pavel Bém (ODS) welcomed the project after its victory in the competition, a few months later he began pointing out alleged obstacles in its path.
    According to the rules of the competition, which Kaplický and his team Future System won last March, he is entitled to a severance pay if construction does not begin within two years from that time. "That is not a problem of today, those are details," the architect said today.
    Paroubek will recommend to the ČSSD presidium that they have Kaplický's project presented. He has also agreed with the architect to consult the social democracy program in the field of culture.
    The situation surrounding the construction is, according to Paroubek, "a confusing jumble of intrigues." "And the main intriguer, the villain, a bitter person is Mr. (director of the National Gallery in Prague Milan) Knížák. He negatively inspires the President of the Republic, who negatively inspires Mayor Bém, and these three have created a triangle that is currently preventing the realization of this bold project," Paroubek stated.
    Negotiations regarding the new building of the NK are seemingly at a standstill. After several months of negotiations, the team of the National Library, consisting of representatives of the city, state, the commissioning party for the competition, and the architect had to be re-involved by the antimonopoly office at the initiative of the first Deputy Minister of Culture František Mikeš. The mayor is now referring to the allegedly expected statements from it and the position of the Ministry of Culture, while the director of the NK is referring back, as Prague has not sold land to the library.
    Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek (ODS) and Minister Jehlička (KDU-ČSL) have repeatedly stated that there are no funds for a new building in the culture minister's budget. Deputy Prime Minister Jiří Čunek (KDU-ČSL) stated on Wednesday that he wants to ensure that the government finds the missing money for the construction in the budget. The state had counted on a sum of 1.9 billion crowns, but according to Čunek, Kaplický's project would cost about three billion, and he would like to cover the missing billion during cabinet budget discussions.
    Čunek also noted that the necessary funds are not a matter of next year, but are rather about a period of two to three years from now when construction of the new building could begin. However, cost estimates for the construction are more in the range of four to five billion crowns.