"We started to 'label' each other. Whoever has a different opinion becomes an enemy," Danuše Nerudová thinks about the causes of the growing hatred in society
According to current polls, you are among the "Top 3" candidates for the presidency. What was the main impetus for your candidacy?
The main reason was that I don't care what country and society we live in. Since I am a mother of two children, I would also like to see us in the Czech Republic start to care about our future and not just dwell on the past.
You already have one experience of being the first woman to head a large organisation - you were the first female rector of Mendel University and the youngest female rector in the Czech Republic. Did you encounter any prejudices during your tenure in this position?
Of course, I have encountered various preconceived opinions throughout my professional life. In most of the positions I have held, I have always been the youngest and also the first woman. I have also faced questioning of my competence, but I have to say that I did not make a big deal out of it. I am convinced that every person's actions speak for them. For example, thanks to the changes I made at the university from the position of rector, my colleagues stood firmly behind me. They found that there was simply no room for questioning.
How difficult was it for you to work your way up to a senior position? After all, the glass ceiling is still a persistent problem in women's careers today...
Yes, that's true. Most women tend to be very underestimated and not considered at all as relevant candidates for senior positions. I've encountered that myself, as well as underestimation of my abilities. But I have always tried to offer a vision. I did that in the case of the university when I presented a vision of where it could be under my leadership. I dare say I had a very different perspective. Unlike my colleagues, I didn't speak in technocratic language and present what needed to be changed and cut, but I sensed the concerns of my colleagues. Therefore, I tried to empathetically come up with a solution to the situation and present a certain story and also what would happen at the end of it.
As practice shows, just showing empathy in the case of a head of state could be a pleasant change for Czech citizens. Why is it that Czech politicians are not very capable of it?
In this case, I see two levels of the problem. The first is the fact that there is a very low representation of women in politics - and it is women who typically (and perhaps stereotypically) develop empathy to a greater extent than men. This is then followed by the second level - because the political environment is predominantly masculine, the empathy shown is perceived as a weakness.
So, through this prism, is being a woman more of an asset or a liability in your candidacy?
I don't think of it that way at all. It is impossible to build a political campaign on the fact that someone is a woman. Sometimes it can be an advantage, sometimes not. That's how it is in any career, after all, so you have to take that into account.
To some extent, age can also be an (dis)advantage. You yourself have described your experience of always being the youngest in most of the positions you have held. In the Czech Republic, candidacy for the position of president is limited by the lower age limit, but would it not be beneficial to limit it to the upper limit as well?
At the moment, I think that setting an age limit is the right thing to do. The lower limit of forty years is adequate, given that if someone is running for the post of president, they should also have done some work and have something under their belt. I also think that it would not be good to limit the post to an upper limit, because age is a very individual thing in this respect.
You mentioned that the Czech political environment is predominantly masculine. At the same time, you yourself speak as an opponent of quotas. So how can we 'kick-start' change?
I am convinced that society must accept change as its own and that it must become a social norm. At the university, I have promoted equal opportunities, and we were even the first university in the Czech Republic to receive a prestigious HR Award from the European Commission for related actions. It turned out that equality is a topic that needs to be communicated very thoroughly, and that societal settings and norms are hard to change by orders from above without people understanding exactly what it will bring to them. That is why I try to explain that the situation in our society is not normal and that we are wasting talent if we do not use enough of the potential of women, 51% of whom live in the Czech Republic. After all, we are all human beings, we have two eyes and two ears. If we cover one eye we cannot see well, if we cover one ear we cannot hear well. And that's what homogeneous collectives made up of only men, but also only women, look like. They see with one eye, hear with one ear. Therefore, explanation, close communication and also stepping out of the comfort zone are essential. This is, of course, especially true for women, who should set an example and be an inspiration to others.
You are not afraid to talk openly about topics that are 'shaky' for many politicians. Social issues are close to your heart and you are also very clear as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. What is your opinion on the persistence of a largely negative discourse about LGBTQ+ people in the Czech political sphere?
I believe it is due to the predominantly masculine environment and the lack of empathy mentioned above. I would say that politicians fail to look at this issue through the eyes of women - mothers who give birth to a child and raise it with all their love. When the child then tells them that he or she is lesbian or gay, a loving mother will hardly reject it. So the female element is missing from politics.
Yet there are a handful of women in Czech politics, and many of them are not exactly pro-LGBTQ+...
Of course, the exceptions prove the rule, but one thing is politics, another is a certain activism that some of them have.
In the last few years, not only in the Czech Republic but also in neighbouring countries, there has been a certain escalation of hatred. In your opinion, to what could this change in the social atmosphere be attributed - and is there any "way back"?
Words are a powerful weapon in this regard. Our society has begun to label each other and with that, critical discussion has disappeared. Whoever has a different opinion is automatically perceived as an enemy. That is why we need to start talking openly again and listening to each other. In order to make a difference, it is also necessary to try to understand the other. And, of course, it is also true that politicians have a crucial and critical role to play in this whole process, because they themselves must set an example.
You said at the beginning of the interview that you are ready to stop dwelling on the past and focus on the future. What should it be?
I am ready to discuss what our country should look like in five years of my possible presidency. I would like it to be a modern country, with a friendly face for its citizens and no obstacles for entrepreneurs. It should also be digitalised and socially cohesive. We should therefore support the active, but also understand that there are also the vulnerable who are not so lucky and need to be helped and cared for. We should also be a society that lives sustainably, has respect for others and honours equality.
To what extent can the Head of State influence all of the things you mentioned?
The President has a major influence because he raises key issues in the public space. After all, Václav Klaus, for example, has shown how significantly the president can influence public opinion in relation to global warming.
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Prof. Ing. Danuše Nerudová, Ph.D.
D., an economist who has linked her professional - academic career with the Mendel University in Brno. There, she also made history with a number of firsts with the subtitle "the youngest", namely the youngest head of department, vice-dean, professor in her field and finally the youngest rector. Her main area of professional interest is tax issues, but she has also long been committed to equal opportunities in the labour market and the elimination of related inequalities. In 2018, she was appointed Chair of the Fair Pensions Commission and in spring 2020 she founded the KoroNERV-20 citizens' initiative. She officially announced her presidential candidacy in May 2022 and confirmed it in early November by submitting the collected signatures of almost 83,000 supporters.
Danuše Nerudová's chances for the presidency are highPhoto: Danuše Nerudová / se svolením
