Culture had three ministers, there is still a lack of concepts and important laws

Prague - While 11 people have held the position of Minister of Culture since the early 1990s, the head of the department has changed three times this year alone. Considering past years, the office is still slowly looking for the certainty it needs to secure more funds for Czech culture, which continues to be labeled underfunded, among its government colleagues.
    The ministry gained significant attention during the abrupt ministerial changes in January. First, after Martin Štěpánek, a minister in the first minority government of the ODS, which failed to gain confidence, the position was taken by the documentary filmmaker Helena Třeštíková, nominated by the Christian Democrats. She resigned after 16 days due to alleged pressures regarding the appointment of a deputy. She was succeeded by Senator Václav Jehlička (KDU-ČSL).
    After that, the situation calmed down and the ministry stopped being, according to the current head's plans, an impregnable fortress. Grills and security frames at the entrance have disappeared, an exhibition space for art students is being created in the basement, the bureaucracy is being rejuvenated, and the structure of the office is changing. The grand palace, which Jehlička seemed shocked by upon his arrival, should soon be more open to the public.
    Several months of this year were once again marked by a struggle for basic finances for the continuity of Czech culture. In the original budget proposal for next year, the government projected expenditures on culture at 6.7 billion CZK, which would be about 1.2 billion CZK less than this year. Only in September did the government add a billion, and the budget ended up not deviating much from previous years.
    While in percentage terms it does not decrease relative to the state budget, as it did since the late 1990s (last year the downward trend reversed), experts say it is still not enough. More money is not everything - the criticized fact remains the number of contributory organizations, which consume half of the ministry's budget.
    However, the Ministry of Culture still does not have an updated cultural policy, even though it has been approaching one in recent months, which the government could assess at the beginning of the year. The culture also still lacks several long-awaited laws - although some are close.
    This year, the ministry took a small step towards accessing funds from European funds. Between 2007 and 2013, up to six billion CZK is expected to be allocated to projects supported by structural funds in the area of culture in the Czech Republic. For the current phase of absorption, the office evaluated more than two hundred applications; even before the announcement of the call for submissions, it recommends only a few of them - thereby giving them an advantage. Critics argue that it favors only projects with very high budgets, thus benefiting state entities.
    The first of the major events in Czech culture this year, which actually carried over from the fall of last year, was the appointment of a new director of the National Theatre. This act was the only significant step made by Helena Třeštíková as minister before she left her position under alleged political pressure.
    Ondřej Černý, who replaced Daniel Dvořák at the helm of the ND, is linked to another issue that has been widely discussed in connection with Jehlička's plans to change the current state of contributory organizations. Černý was the long-term director of the Theatre Institute, which the minister intended to merge with the National Information and Consulting Center for Culture (NIPOS) as part of savings. This intention sparked significant discontent within the cultural community. Many experts supported the expertise and indispensability of the institute, and it seems that the idea of merging it has been abandoned.
    According to Jehlička, the future of contributory organizations should be addressed by a new law on public-law institutions in culture; this should among other things enable them to operate more independently. However, it is unlikely to start functioning before 2009. There are more new laws that Czech culture is waiting for.
    A new monument law is still lacking; the current one, despite being amended numerous times, celebrated its 20th birthday this year. The National Heritage Institute continues to issue its expert opinions, which, however, are not legally binding for self-governing officials. In October, the minister set up a working group to draft a proposal for a new law. What is certain now is that the proposal will be contentious, at least because it includes the institution of a so-called authorized heritage professional. Some experts fear it could be corruptible.
    Filmmakers are eagerly awaiting the amendment to the Act on Czech Cinematography, especially after it was vetoed last year by President Václav Klaus. The amendment, which aims to secure more funds for film production, has currently completed the comment process, and the government could discuss it, according to the ministry's estimate, in February.
    This year saw progress on a long-standing issue - the question of asset settlement between the state and the churches. The government established a commission, and representatives of the churches also have their own and want to submit a proposal for a law to the government by the end of the year. The state proposes to return a third of the assets to the church orders, with two-thirds being a financial compensation of 83 billion CZK, which would be paid out over 60 to 70 years. The contract with the Vatican remains unresolved.