Czech Labor and Social Affairs Minister and his Romani supporters are criticized for what many Roma see as a distasteful political stunt

Critics are pointing out that the participation by several Romani individuals during the press conference was tendentious, that the people there have no mandate to represent the Romani community as a whole, and that their appearance bolstered the stereotypical perception of Romani people as social welfare benefit recipients. The press conference, held after a session of the Committee on Social Affairs in the lower house, featured Romani community member René Baláž of the Nová Vize 2020 [New Vision 2020] initiative and Lubomír Obst of the Unie Romů – Restart plus [Romani Union – Restart Plus] organization.

Both expressed support for the proposed changes to the social welfare system and claimed that the Romani community agrees with them, wants to actively join the labor market, and does not want to be perceived just as welfare recipients. “First I would like to thank the minister for the amendment to the law. I am here for the Romani minority. Our community wants to actively contribute, we don’t want to just be welfare recipients anymore, we want to find appropriate employment. This law seems motivating to us, because it is encouraging people to find work,” Baláž said.

Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Fuková: Welfare is not primarily about Roma, it is about people in overwhelming life situations

The appearances by Baláž and Obst sparked an enormous wave of criticism. In her response, Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková stressed that social welfare benefits are not a “Romani subject”, but concern anybody in an overwhelming life situation.

“Social welfare benefits do not primarily affect Romani people, but anybody in an overwhelming life situation who needs aid with overcoming their social precarity,” Fuková told news server Romea.cz. She warned that the reform has yet to be adopted and recalled that criticism of it has been voiced during the drafting of it, for instance, with regard to the definition of a household’s vulnerability or for its impact on senior citizens and single-parent households.

“My role is not to express an opinion about welfare benefits, I consider that to be a stereotypical view of who the Roma are. That is the role of the experts on this social aid which is meant to be provided to all people equally to an adequate extent,” Fuková said.

Tišer and Ščuka: The Government is exploiting Roma as props for its reforms

According to David Tišer, a civil society member of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, the appearance of the Romani men at the press conference was yet another example of the fact that Romani people are only given room to speak when it is necessary to discuss exclusion, poverty, or welfare benefits. “Minister Jurečka has shown once more how this political symbolism works – Romani people are given room to speak only when the discussion is about welfare. Where have Romani people been asked to speak during the debates about education, health care, business or culture? Nowhere,” said Tišer.

“When it’s necessary to legitimize an amendment to the law that affects the most vulnerable, suddenly [Romani] faces are found to confirm the minister’s words,” added Tišer. According to him, this selective approach leads to Romani people being perceived by the public only as welfare benefit recipients while their successes in other areas are ignored.

“Romani people are not just welfare benefit recipients, they are doctors, teachers, business people, artists – but we never see such Roma at a minister’s press conference. This political game is distasteful and it is necessary to take a strong stand against it. This approach is unacceptable. Romani people are not ‘extras’ on the stage of Government policy!“ added Tišer.

Another civil society member of the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs, Tomáš Ščuka, also reacted sharply, saying the exploitation of the Romani men at the press conference was part of the minister’s political marketing. “Although Minister Jurečka has repeatedly said this legislative change will affect all who are unemployed, in his marketing of this amendment, he has been using Romani people from start to finish. The absolutely most ideal scenario is when the chosen Romani representative upholds the words of the extremists and the populists about the Romani community abusing welfare,” said Ščuka.

“This approach by the Christian Democrats has nothing in common with democratic principles and values. On the contrary, it is losing the trust of low-income, vulnerable groups, and during the elections this will manifest as support for anti-system, populist parties,” added Ščuka.

Another civil society member of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, Alena Gronzíková, cast doubt on Baláž’s authorization to speak on behalf of the entire Romani community. “Which Romani community do you think you represent, René Baláž? By what right do you presume to speak for all Roma on the revision to the welfare law?” asked Gronzíková, who also pointed out that the amendment to the law will affect a broad range of people, not just Roma.

“The amendment to the law will affect everybody, whether working families with children, single parents, people on disability or those who are unemployed, whatever the reason – all vulnerable groups, in other words. I don’t have to have a genius-level IQ to understand that. I believe it’s impertinent and inexcusable for you to present yourselves in this way for your own ambitions and publicity,” Gronzíková said.

Gronzíková also criticized Minister Jurečka for not inviting experts to his press conference, but instead, individuals who have no mandate. “It’s absolutely incomprehensible to me why Minister Jurečka, speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs as the submitter of this law, would lower himself to bringing in what are essentially people from off of the street and allowing them to speak just to score political points. Mr. Minister, the advisory body to the Government – which means you – is the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs with its Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs. This is more than dishonorable and pathetic,” Gronzíková said.

Union of Associations: We do not support this reform, Baláž does not represent the Romani community

The appearance of the Romani men alongside Minister Jurečka sparked a negative reaction not just from the Commissioner and the civil society members of the Council, but also from representatives of Romani organizations. The Union of Associations (Not Just for Roma), the umbrella organization of the Roma Spolek HK [Romani Association Hradec Králové], the Roma Spolek Náchod [Romani Association Náchod], and the Jaroměřské Sociální Centrum [Jaroměř Social Center] has issued a statement strenuously rejecting the idea that Baláž represents the Romani community as a whole.

“The Union of Associations strongly objects to the claim that Mr. René Baláž represents the Romani community and that Romani people support Minister Marian Jurečka’s amendment. We consider that statement to be inexact and misleading,” said Dana Chromeková and Roman Samko, representatives of the Union.

According to the Union, the Romani community is diverse and cannot be represented by a single voice. In their opinion, the Czech media should take into consideration the wide range of opinions among Romani people and not go down the slippery slope of claiming the reform is unambiguously supported by the Romani community.

Analysis of the comments on social media: 87 % of reactions are negative

The appearances of the Romani men alongside Minister Jurečka have sparked fierce debate on social media. On the basis of a quick analysis by news server Romea.cz, three main positions have been expressed most frequently by those commenting on this incident through the ROMEA organization’s social media profiles.

The first position is the criticism that Baláž and Obst have no mandate to speak on behalf of all Roma, which was posted by 38 % of those commenting. “Who gave them the right to speak for all Roma? I don’t know either of them and most of the Romani people whom I know disagree with this reform,” one social media user wrote.

Some social media users (27 %) expressed the fear that the reform will actually harm people in need. They warned that the combination of all benefits into one and the stricter rules could lead to the poorest of the poor falling even further into destitution.

“They say they want to motivate people to work, but what if there are no jobs? What is a single mother who has no childcare to do? Instead of aiding us, they’re throwing us under the bus,” one social media user wrote.

Another 22 % of social media users perceived the appearance by the Romani men at the press conference to be Minister Jurečka’s political strategy and pointed out that their presence there had been completely tendentious. “This is just theater for the cameras. They find a couple of people who agree to it, then they sell it as the support of the whole Romani community. In reality, most Roman people reject this,” one of the social media users wrote.

The smallest group, comprising 13 % of the social media users, supports the reform and argued that eligibility for welfare benefits should depend on the recipient working. Overall, most reactions to the event were negative (87 %), which shows the deep distrust among a large part of the Romani community toward this reform and those who are publicly supporting it.