Herman should complete the reconstruction of the National Museum according to Sobotka

Prague - According to Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, the new Minister of Culture Daniel Herman (KDU-ČSL) should finalize the reconstruction of the National Museum. He mentioned this as one of the priorities during Herman's introduction to the position today, thus concluding a three-day handover of departments to his government members. Herman told journalists that he wants to maintain the number of four deputy ministers at the ministry.
The first deputy will be Kateřina Kalistová (ČSSD), and the musician Miroslav Rovenský, nominated by KDU-ČSL, will focus on the arts. Herman will gradually clarify further names in his team. "Things are in negotiation," he stated. The ANO movement recently announced that it nominated composer and unsuccessful presidential candidate Vladimír Franz for the position of deputy.
It is also reported that former long-time ministry employee Zdeněk Novák could return to the ministry, and the name of René Schreier has also appeared in the media. A graduate of the University of Defense in Brno, he served as the economic deputy of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes from its inception until 2013; last year, Herman, who had led the institute since 2010, also left the institute.
"I am very glad that we managed to incorporate that one percent from the state budget into the coalition agreement, and I assume into the program statement as well, which is a European standard, because culture cannot only live on the scent of flowers," the new minister mentioned one of his priorities. The commitment for the ministry to operate with this share of the state budget has been made by Czech governments since the 1990s. Without church expenditures, the ministry was closest to it in 1999 (0.77 percent) and then again in 2008 (0.73 percent), but the budget has actually dropped by 2.5 billion since 2008.
"With the outgoing and incoming minister, we had the opportunity to discuss some priorities, some topics that are handed over from one minister to another, and for some, the baton has been long," the prime minister said today. He specifically mentioned the renovation of the National Museum, which according to him began preparations in 2006 when he was leaving the position of Minister of Finance. "It is a very unpleasant surprise for me that almost eight years later... this reconstruction has not yet started in terms of construction realization," he stated, adding that he does not criticize the museum director Michal Lukeš. "He is doing everything he can, but it is incredible how long such projects drag on," he added.
Sobotka wished Herman to elevate the prestige of the ministry "to the level it deserves." According to him, especially the Nečas coalition made decisions regarding the staffing of the Ministry of Culture that devalued the position of the ministry. In Petr Nečas's government, Jiří Besser and Alena Hanáková (both TOP 09 and STAN) held this position, and some of their actions sparked very negative reactions among the relevant experts and also among politicians.