| MAIN FEATURE >
The many faces of Železný
Written by: René Jakl, John Letzing, Klára Smolová, Jasna Sýkorová,
Martin Zika
Photo by: Jaroslav Nejedlý, Petr Poliak, Věroslav Sixt, Ondřej Němec,
Marketing & Media, V&V, Monika Tomášková, Vladimír Weiss
Question for the director: who are
you? Throughout the many manifestations of Vladimír Železný - intellectual,
media mogul and now politician - observers have struggled to nail
down a single profile. What follows is a survey of the man's different
faces.
ONCE UPON A TIME, Vladimír Železný was a frumpy intellectual with
a head of hair like a bush caught in a windstorm. In the early '90s,
he and five associates with sparkling academic backgrounds proposed
creating a TV station with educational programming, and few doubted
their intentions. But soon the programming on TV Nova turned positively
lurid. The public responded with adulation, and swiftly transformed
Mr. Železný, the brains behind it all, into a wealthy businessman.
The former intellectual now sports silk ties instead of tattered
corduroy jackets. And this past autumn, his immaculately groomed
visage began peering down from campaign billboards, helping propel
him into office as senator from Znojmo.
So begins yet another chapter in a fascinating life. Železný has
endured a litany of personal setbacks, up to and including the collapse
of his family, a veritable tsunami of legal proceedings, and criminal
charges including, but not limited to, tax evasion and harming a
creditor. A cast of unsavory characters has been linked publicly
to the Železný name, like the international art dealer who confessed
to furtively slipping a Marc Chagall painting into the country at
his request. Yet Železný has always remained one step ahead of his
detractors. Critics, and there are many, claim that opaque political
connections, a powerful media platform, and an extraordinary ruthlessness
have ensured this resilience. Others point to the man's bountiful
intellect and high-octane work ethic.
The classic American film Citizen Kane was based on the life of
media tycoon William Randolph Hearst, and was a rumination on power
and corruption. The description of Železný as the "Citizen
Kane" of the Czech Republic provides an irresistible parallel:
Kane transforms a stodgy medium (in his case newspapers) into sensationalistic,
highly popular fare; he then uses this success to leverage a political
career. More poignantly, the sting of personal disaster taints the
tales of both men. While Kane's insatiable appetites - whether for
women, power, or priceless pieces of art - eventually destroy him,
consider what one former associate says of Železný: "all people
he ever lived or worked with at some point ended up turning against
him - his wife, his sons, his lawyer. Even his bodyguards turned
against him." Another former colleague who preferred to remain
anonymous adds, "I don't know anyone who has split with Železný
on good terms. For him, people are just tools that serve to help
reach his goals." A Kane-like pathos on the mountain top, indeed.
But the two tales diverge at one essential point: the fictional
Kane brings ruin to himself through his unquenchable solipsism,
while Železný, on the other hand, seems simply untouchable. The
resounding victory recently enjoyed in his senatorial race came
despite much-publicized criminal proceedings. Nationwide, participation
in the first round of senate voting was a mere 24%, yet Železný
managed to mobilize 37% turnout and receive a stunning 50.82% of
total votes cast in his district - making him the only clear victor
in the entire first round (his opponent, Milan Špaček, received
18.25%).
While the government trudges through budget disarray associated
with flood damage, it must also face the future possibility of having
to pay 527 million dollars to Vladimír Železný's estranged former
financial partner CME, to cover damages. For those keeping count,
that amounts to roughly 50 dollars (CZK 1,500) per Czech citizen
- the equivalent of well over a year's worth of license fee per
household paid to support Czech public television. Meanwhile, Železný
is settling into his new life as an elected official. The biggest
question now is whether or not outstanding criminal charges against
him will be erased through political immunity. The manner in which
he ran his campaign, relying heavily on his status as public spectacle
and media boss, seems to have embittered more than a few fellow
senators, in whose hands the decision on granting immunity may ultimately
lay. Media Tenor-Institute for Media Analysis, a division of InnoVatio
publishers, estimates that Železný appeared in the media roughly
28 times more often than his main political rival (they estimate
1,726 news articles to 62). And though Železný claims not to have
spent an inordinate sum on his campaign, his use of Nova was disturbingly
brazen - the characteristic swirling brand design even appeared
on his billboards. Disgruntled Senate chair Petr Pithart has no
doubts about surrendering Železný to the authorities: "I believe
that Vladimír Železný already decided this issue for me, with his
repeated insistence that he was not running just for immunity."
Vice-chair of the senate Jan Ruml adds, "It would be simply
shameful if he weren't turned over." But the collegial nature
of the Senate may yet forbid the persecution of one of its members,
regardless of his background. And Železný, for his part, has publicly
expressed a desire for the immunity committee to "dig into"
his case...and then, presumably, bury it.
Near the end of Citizen Kane, the protagonist is a vanquished old
man well past his prime. Today, in the Czech Republic, Citizen Železný's
latest face is just emerging, and the result of his ambitions remains
to be seen.
 |
 |
| Jiří
Grygar |
Photo:
V. Sixt |
The perfect professional
The Czech media shower nearly constant attention
on Vladimír Železný. So we know a great deal about
his life as the director of TV Nova. But what was
his life like prior to 1989, where the roots in the
history of his activities in the new-age Czech state
lie?
He was born in 1945 in Samara, a city in the Soviet
Union of that time. His father, a member of (World
War II hero) General Svoboda's army staff, was being
treated there for a wound. The entire family moved
to Prague in 1948. After Železný graduated from high
school, he decided to attend the Prague School of
Social Sciences and Journalism. His outstanding abilities
became evident while he was a student. Besides his
"own" lectures, he also signed up for lectures
on aesthetics, and economics, as well as studies at
the School of Mathematics and Physics. His schoolmate,
journalist Jaroslav Veis once said of him, "He
was already 'unbearably' educated and culturally oriented
as a student. He had a striking personality."
While a student, Železný worked part-time for Czechoslovak
Television (ČST), and later became an employee. Following
the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968,
he took part in "anti-occupation" broadcasts.
Shortly after the events of August, he departed for
nine months in the UK, where he worked for the renowned
Associated Press agency and also married his long-term
girlfriend, Marta, who was expecting a child.
In 1975 Železný became an editor for Technický magazín,
a popular science publication. While working on a
story he met the astro-physicist Jiří Grygar. Grygar
remembers his meeting with journalist Železný as follows:
"He was the perfect professional. He asked intelligent
questions, which was remarkable." He said this
impression was confirmed when they later worked together
on the filming of the successful TV series, "Wide-Open
Windows to the Universe", which Grygar narrated.
Železný, the screenplay writer, was able to do any
of the studio work, from directing to editing. He
was often better at it than the regular directors
and editors, Grygar notes. After some time both men
discovered that they "resonated" together,
and they also began meeting outside of work. Grygar
saw Železný as a model English gentleman. "He
was absolutely reliable, and I could speak openly
with him and trust him," the scientist says.
So later, when Železný became the director of the
commercial station, Grygar became deeply disappointed
by his activities and behavior.
Until 1989, Železný was also a prolific writer. He
wrote many plays and serials for television (especially
Slovak television) and he is the author of several
radio plays. He published three popular science books,
and in the second half of the '80s he contributed
to various samizdat magazines.
Martin Zika
|
|
| Flirting
with politics
|
 |
| V.
Ž. & P. Pithart, 92 |
Photo: O.
Němec
Lidové Noviny |
No one who knew Vladimír Železný
before November 1989 would be surprised by his entry into
public life almost immediately after the fall of totalitarianism.
Like many other people, Železný turned up - where else? -
in politics.
You can read in the press and other publications that Železný
served as the main script writer for the first successful
electoral campaign of the Civic Forum (OF), an opposition
movement that was formed immediately after the collapse of
the communist regime. Sociologist Ivan Gabal, who also participated
in the OF campaign, sees it somewhat differently. "I
was the head of the electoral campaign. One day Železný came
and offered his assistance, which we accepted," Gabal
recounts. Železný's job was to prepare a concept for a television
campaign, and he was later responsible for implementing it.
"In my opinion, he needs firm leadership, and if the
rules are clearly laid out, he's very efficient and creative.
In general, he's capable and hard working, and our cooperation
was very fruitful," opines Gabal, adding, "when
I watch TV Nova, it feels like the Vladimír Železný of those
days was someone else."
After the OF won decisively in the 1990 elections, Železný
became its spokesman. However, in October of the same year,
Václav Klaus was named head of the OF, and as time went by
he and Železný quarrelled openly. "At that time, Železný
kept a marked difference distance from Klaus," comments
Senate chairman Petr Pithart. So the future director of TV
Nova resigned and became the spokesman for the Czech government
and an advisor to then prime minister Pithart.
According to Pithart, Železný was an extremely intelligent,
well-educated person with a fine sense of the balance and
nuances of every word. And that's exactly what he appreciated
in him. "He was a responsible and reliable government
spokesman," Pithart says. While he was still working
as spokes-man, Železný entered a tender for the first director
of Czech Television. He lost to winner Ivo Mathé by a single
vote. At the end of the spring of 1992, the Civic Movement,
of which prime minister was also a member, lost the elections,
which meant the end of Železný's work for the government.
In the same year, CET 21 named Železný to prepare a project
for the first private nationwide television station in the
Czech Republic, and the firm later received the first broadcast
license.
For years there was speculation about Železný's return to
politics, and he himself made ambivalent statements, sometimes
saying yes, sometimes no. His flirtation came to an end this
year when he ran for the Senate and came out the only first-round
winner. What kind of politician will he be? He claims that
he mainly wants to be a good senator, to fight for the interests
of the Znojmo region, to improve its economy. For example,
he intends to waive his Senate salary to the benefit of various
projects in the region, which would mean donations of over
CZK 3 million during his six-year term. But some people see
this as merely campaign rhetoric. "The voters accepted
whatever he told them," says Oldřich Kraipl, a ČSSD Senate
candidate, adding that Železný took advantage of a shortage
of information about him publicly available in the region.
He was elected to the Senate on the Independent ticket, but
the question remains as to how far his independence will extend.
Klára Smolová & Martin Zika
|
| From
lobbyist to director
|
 |
| |
Photo: Marketing&Media |
Vladimír Železný and TV Nova - it now seems that
the two have been eternally linked. But not many people remember
that Železný was not Nova's founder.
A group of five cosmopolitan intellectuals were the original
partners in CET 21, the company that received the broadcasting
license in 1993: Fedor Gál, a Slovak sociologist and politician;
Peter Hunčík,
a Hungarian poet, psychiatrist, and politician; Peter Kršák,
a film director; Vlastimil Venclík, then director of the Film
and Television Union; and Josef Alan, a sociologist for the
company Film and Sociology. For Hunčík and Kršák, Nova was
their second attempt at a private television station in what
was then Czechoslovakia. Their first project won a Slovak
tender, but when Mečiar came to power it was called off. Even
so, the effort was not in vain, because when Hunčík was looking
for an investor he met Mark Palmer, the American ambassador
to Hungary. Later this key contact ensured financial coverage
for the TV Nova project - it was Palmer who brought the resources
of American businessman Ronald Lauder to Nova.
Hunčík and Kršák managed to bring Gál, Alan, and Venclík on
board for the ambitious CET 21 (Central European Television
for the 21st Century) project. At that time Železný was Petr
Pithart's spokesman. The "founding fathers" hired
him to lobby for their project, and he also negotiated with
representatives of the American Lauder, due to his excellent
command of English. A highly experienced strategist, Železný
made the most of this situation, stating that if the project
was victorious he would have to be named director, and that's
exactly what happened.
CET 21's avowed broadcast plan, offering educational programs
and original European films, quickly vanished after the license
was awarded. Železný cut the CET 21 partners off from the
operation of the TV station, but he paid them USD 1,000 per
month for "consulting services". The disputes among
the founders and those directed towards Železný gradually
grew more intense. In the end, all of them except for Peter
Kršák sold their shares to Železný. It is estimated that they
received CZK 50 million each.
"Money is a great magical force, and it can even destroy
relationships that have existed for decades," says Gál.
"Today my relationships with the former founders are
of the past; only my friendship with Peter Hunčík survived."
René Jakl
|
| An advocate
of opportunity
|
 |
| |
Klaus'
60th birthday, July 2001 |
Many people feel that nothing is beyond the capabilities
of Vladimír Železný. Whether or not this is true, one can't
help but notice that his career is marked by frequent and
rather radical about-faces and changes of opinion.
For example, let's take a look at the relationship between
Vladimír Železný and Václav Klaus. At the beginning the relationship
wasn't as "idyllic" as it is now, and they were
often at odds. In the beginning of the nineties Klaus was
the chairman of the Civic Forum and Železný was its spokesman.
However, soon after Klaus' appointment Železný left this political
coalition. The mutual, unconcealed malice between Železný
and the ODS was reinforced when he became the director of
TV Nova, culminating in 1997 following the collapse of the
Klaus government, when TV Nova aired a story about Klaus'
alleged villa in Switzerland. Klaus sued the TV station for
slander, but they then reached an out-of-court agreement whose
content has never been made public, and Železný suddenly reversed
field. Nova then aired critical reports on topics that aroused
harangues from the ODS (the presidential couple, IPB, the
Czech Television situation, and so on). Železný publicly praised
Klaus as the future president, etc.
"I think Mr. Železný made a calculated move," says
Jan Ruml, a senator and the former Freedom Union chairman.
Shortly after the Freedom Union's founding, when its popularity
was rapidly rising (while the ODS recorded a radical drop
in voter popularity), Železný was rumored to have offered
to make public compromising material concerning Klaus and
the ODS during the election campaign, to the benefit of Ruml's
party. Ruml turned him down. The parties' popularity began
changing, and Železný's offer to support the Freedom Union
evaporated. "When the opposition agreement was cemented,
Železný gave me clear indications as to how the cards are
dealt in this country. He said he had to support those two
gentlemen because he couldn't leave anything to chance,"
Ruml says.
Milan Šmíd, a media analyst and classmate of Železný at the
School of Social Sciences, believes that in 1996 the TV Nova
director betrayed himself. "He depended on the TV station's
economic results, and the money probably clouded his thinking.
He began to act like an absolute demagogue," says Šmíd.
He points to the frequent distortion of facts and the use
of half-truths and lies on the show "Call the Director".
Astro-physicist Jiří Grygar, who was a friend of Železný's
before 1989, was deeply disillusioned. "I said to myself
that I knew this man, so how could he allow his TV station
to broadcast such programs? An intellectual, he would certainly
never watch them himself! It then occurred to me that he was
the one who dreamed up the shows," says Grygar, describing
his loss of faith. He says that property is not the main thing
Železný is interested in, as he had never displayed such motivation
in the past. "Instead, I think that he wants to be a
big boss, to manipulate people, and to determine what will
take place in society," remarks Grygar.
Martin Zika
|
|
With friends like these...
|
 |
| Fred
Klinkhammer |
M. Růžička
MAFA |
VLADIMÍR ŽELEZNÝ earned the trust of foreign backers at CME
by building TV Nova into a stunning financial success. That
changed in April 1999, when he was sacked for alleged asset
stripping. He then took to the hills - literally. From Barrandov,
Železný began broadcasting with a new production partner.
CME, and its CEO Fred Klinkhammer, were livid; no one could
believe Železný had the nerve to pull off a coup of such proportions.
The ensuing legal battle has consisted primarily of three
international arbitration decisions, the first ordering Železný
to pay USD 27 million to CME in compensation. This was ultimately
settled in summer 2002 by Nova's new owner, financial group
PPF. The most recent decision, in what was known as the "Amsterdam"
arbitration, declared the Czech government responsible for
not protecting CME's investment, and though the exact amount
of the award as we go to press is undecided, CME is pressing
for USD 527 million.
This whole mess could perhaps have been foreseen, as the enmity
between Fred Klinkhammer and Železný had been well known.
Železný was said to resent CME's use of the healthy profits
from Nova to finance less salubrious operations elsewhere
in the region. Meanwhile, Klinkhammer fumed about Železný's
increasing calls for power and autonomy. When CME owners tried
to appease Železný with a superficial title in 1996, says
CME spokesman Michal Donath, it may have been the last straw.
Says Donath, "I think that was the day when he decided
to bash them over the head." Klinkhammer's ire has lately
been more focused on officialdom than on Železný himself.
He recently told The Prague Tribune: "The real question
is how the Czech Republic still seems to support him and those
in government who conspired with him to destroy our investment."
Železný, through his spokesman Martin Chalupský, flatly denies
that forces in government aided his struggle with CME. The
bitter words are not limited to Železný or Klinkhammer. Michal
Donath wonders how the sordid legal affair has affected the
EU's willingness to take the Czech Republic in as a member:
"I mean, would you take a prostitute into your house
to live? Unless you are Jesus, no way."
John Letzing |
| Selective
media relations
There are various ways to control your public image.
One is to become director of your own TV station; another
is to carefully select which media have access to you.
JAN CHMELÍČEK, Právo's reporter for southern Moravia, managed
to interview Železný several times during his recent senatorial
campaign. Most of the headlines to his articles stated something
like: "[Znojmo] could be a region with good prospects,"
or "I will deliver what I promised the voters."
Železný generally can't accuse Právo of being overly critical.
A survey conducted by media agency InnoVatio shows that the
smallest number of critical articles was published in Právo
in the period from January to October 2002. According to Jan
Potůček, former editor-in-chief of RadioTV (an internet magazine
specializing in media issues), it is thanks to those articles
(or lack thereof) that Právo gets the most face-to-face interviews
with Železný of all the local newspapers. Potůček was not
so lucky, in spite of all his efforts. In the history of RadioTV,
he has not been granted a single audience.
|
|
|
Press Conference, August 1999 |
Vladimír Weiss |
Another "Nova specialist", Jaroslav Plesl, has
had similar experiences. The author of dozens of articles
for Euro and Týden on the TV Nova dispute, Plesl comments:
"Although I requested interviews with him several times,
it never happened. Euro was able to get an interview only
after I left." Železný's spokesman Martin Chalupský offers
"their" side of the issue: "every person has
the right to decide who gets to interview him and who doesn't,"
he says. "But Vladimír Železný certainly does not try
to avoid them. I can cite two recent interviews - one for
the daily Mladá Fronta and one for Právo."
If some media are consistently positive towards Železný, this
can be largely attributed to the man himself. His press releases
are remarkably emotional, and he is an extraordinary speaker.
"He is able to emphasize what he wants the journalists
to make note of. He repeats these parts several times, he
raises his voice and makes use of pauses - he does it all
very naturally," Potůček says. Even the skeptical Plesl
is often awed: "Everyone writes only what he says, even
though he often says something different than he had signed
elsewhere."
In the public sphere, the more his opposition attacks, the
stronger Železný appears. Far from showing any sign of unease,
his reactions only become more swift and convincing. Železný
can also evoke fear in many journalists, and he is well known
for biting back. Michal Donath, director of the PR agency
Donath-Burson-Marsteller, represents Železný's biggest "enemy"
- CME, the ex-owner of TV Nova (see sidebar on page 26). "It
was a bold decision, taking on work against Železný,"
he recalls. "We certainly lost several clients because
of it. True, he has enormous charisma, but when someone gets
in his way he looks for every possible means to destroy him.
Even through the media." After he started working for
CME, the media accused Donath of having been a big shot with
the StB (the former secret police). He admits that, as a one-time
translator, he appeared on the list of StB collaborators,
but says he held no position there. Donath's innocence was
confirmed in court last year, and he is still convinced that
this attack on his reputation was connected to his choice
of clients.
Jasna Sýkorová
|
| Lining
lawyers' pockets
|
 |
Police
escort Železný form
interrogation, Nov. 2001 |
Josef Nosek,
HN |
Rozehnal, Šipovič, Jilg, Gánik, Sokol, Monsport,
Fürst, Panušková, Kuchař, et al. These top-tier attorneys
have all been employed directly or indirectly by Vladimír
Železný. They certainly can't complain about a dearth of work.
Working as a lawyer for Vladimír Železný is inspiring and
interesting, but also dangerous. For example, attorneys Edita
Panušková and Ondřej Kuchař spent one and a half days in police
custody because of an accusation of harming a creditor. It
is alleged that their assignment was to ensure that the creditor,
CME, would not get its money, thanks to property transfers.
For the same reasons, the court also locked up their colleague
Aleš Rozehnal, who spent several months at the end of 2001
and the beginning
of 2002 in detention. He is now free, but the Chamber of Attorneys
suspended his license to practice law. He was finally dismissed
as CET 21's executive due to his disputes with Železný. Not
even the adroit lawyer Miroslav Šipovič split with Železný
on good terms. Long ago he helped Železný set up a complicated
web of legal relationships that held the media empire together.
Besides Šipovič and his client, hardly anyone understood the
relations among ČNTS, Beseda Holding, TV Prima, and other
entities.
So far, Železný has always managed to elude the clutches of
the police, even though he has faced accusations of several
crimes - both the already mentioned harming of a creditor
and the evasion of CZK 7 million in duty on a precious painting.
His criminal prosecution is still pending, but his senatorial
immunity could put it to rest once and for all. Železný's
closest relatives have also had problems with the law. In
1998 his former wife Marta was fined for failure to pay duty,
albeit a much smaller sum. She didn't declare jewelry and
furs worth a total of about ATS 300,000. His son David has
had greater problems with the law. Three women, including
his former wife, accused him of rape. Even Tomáš Sokol, a
well-known criminal lawyer, was unable to save David Železný
from prison. In January of 2001, the Prague Regional Court
sent David to prison in Znojmo for five years - precisely
to the place where his father was victorious in the senatorial
elections the following year.
René Jakl
|
|
