Saturday, January 31, 2009

Václav Klaus, Straight-Up   [Jay Nordlinger]

We are up to Part III of my Davos Journal (which is over on the homepage). There’s much more to come next week. But may I give you a little sneak preview here? A group of us met this afternoon with Václav Klaus, the president of the Czech Republic, which has the presidency of the European Union at the moment.

 

I asked Klaus something about global warming: “Al Gore calls people who disagree with him ‘deniers.’ I heard him do this just yesterday, in the Congress Center.” (The main forum here in Davos.) “Some of us think that a parallel to Holocaust deniers is intended, or implied. What do you think?”

 

Klaus said, “Al Gore knows that I’m the most important ‘denier’ in the world. But he met with me here for two hours, and we had a normal, friendly discussion. I am a ‘denier,’ even if I dislike that term. I don’t think there is any global warming. I don’t see the statistical data for that.” (Klaus, incidentally, is a professional economist and statistician.) “I don’t believe in the results of the IPCC” (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

 

When it comes to the climate, “there are competing theories. I’m very sorry that some people, like Al Gore, are not ready to listen to the competing theories. I do listen to them.”

 

Klaus has published a book called “Blue Planet in Green Shackles: What Is Endangered: Climate or Freedom?” Klaus told us that the answer is freedom — freedom is endangered — adding, “I imagine National Review would understand what I mean.” I replied, “Actually, there are differing views about global warming at National Review.”

 

Another journalist present said, “What freedom do you mean? What freedom is endangered?” Klaus pointed to her and said, “Yours, mine, [turning to the World Economic Forum representative] the moderator’s. The freedom of publications like National Review.”

 

A different journalist, with high-pitched indignation, said, “Are you saying that Al Gore is threatening freedom?” Klaus answered, “More or less. Environmentalism and the global-warming alarmism are challenging our freedom; Al Gore is an important person in this movement.”

 

About the international financial crisis, Klaus said, “I am more afraid of the ‘reforms’ that will result from the crisis than I am of the crisis itself. I’m afraid that the current crisis will be misused for radically constraining the functioning of the markets and market economies all around the world. I’m afraid of the potential consequences of overactivity by politicians,” as those politicians “try to win votes by pretending that they are coming to the rescue.”

 

Klaus later said that, as a rule, “it’s difficult to make a good regulation” — a regulation that is helpful rather than harmful.

 

I will have more Klaus in the Davos Journal next week. By the way, is there a national leader today whom you respect more?

01/31 01:02 PMShare