Name? Petr Fiala
Westphalian identity? Czech
Age? 57
Why is he in the news? Czech Prime Minister Fiala, alongside his Polish and Slovenian counterparts, travelled to Kyiv yesterday to meet with President Zelensky and offer their (Europe’s) support.
Why do we care? Because symbolism is powerful. Three European leaders taking a train ride in the shadow of bombs and missiles, into a capital on fire, not only shows the seriousness of their solidarity to Zelensky, but also to Putin.
Why should you care? The Czech Republic has taken in roughly 250000 refugees and plans to take in more, according to Fiala. Furthermore. Fiala’s government approved military aid to Ukraine worth more than 28 million euros. This aid is in addition to the ammunition, firearms, and antiaircraft missiles Fiala’s administration has already supplied. With NATO and the EU determining how far they are willing to go with assisting Zelensky, you should care 5/10 about Fiala’s efforts to keep an open door with Ukraine.
Who else cares? European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Although Fiala, Moraqiecki and Janša seemingly visited Kyiv with the intention of “confirming the unequivocal support of the entire European Union…,” it is likely that they did so without the Union’s blessing for the trip. As such, their trip, and anything they may have promised, is likely to stir up greater friction within the bloc as it was not done unanimously—stirring bigger trouble for von der Leyen.
Any further comments? It’s no coincidence that these three leaders were the first to visit Ukraine since Putin invaded. Both Fiala and Morawiecki’s countries were part of the former Soviet Union, living through decades of communist rule. Thus, the fact that Fiala and his counterparts travelled to Kyiv, with no indication that Moscow would grant safe passage to the prime ministers, much less that Putin would pause the bombardment of Kyiv, is a strong statement during times where images speak louder than words.
