Prague - Tomio Okamura, a Czech politician and entrepreneur of Japanese origin, plans to give up the Senate seat he won in 2012 and become a member of the lower house for his Dawn of Direct Democracy after the late-October snap election.
In an interview with the Aktualne.cz and Insider daily newspapers he stressed that he is a wealthy businessman who seeks no financial gain from his political career.
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At the same time, he keeps silence about how he gained his fortune. "The financial office knows everything about my business, that's all that matters," he said, but added that his revenues come mostly from tourist services and the sales of his books. "Last year I paid taxes from a revenue of almost CZK 12 million," he said. Okamora estimates his total wealth at CZK 60 million (EUR 2.3 million).
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"I became self-employed in 1994. I was employing around 22 people as full-time workers, most of them as tourist guides. At that time, my revenue was already over CZK 10 million per year. I still employ various people," said Okamura. "Regular audits by the financial office have found no wrongdoings in my business," he added.
Okamura also stresses his political independence. "I am an independent Senator, my candidacy was allowed by citizens themselves with their signatures. I had a possibility of becoming a candidate of various parties - the CSSD, ODS or KDU-CSL - but eventually I run as an independent, because the voters wanted it that way."
"Our campaign is made by volunteers. There are 400 candidates on our electoral lists, including many interesting personalities," Okamura said about his Dawn of Direct Democracy party. "Most of the costs are covered by a loan from Fio Bank, a part is paid from my own funds. We are not paid by the state like big parties. We have a standard, transparent account. I have been approached by various companies interested in sponsoring Dawn, but I rejected them, we are not for sale."
Vit Barta, founder of Public Affairs, is a candidate of Dawn in Plzen. "We are not close friends with Mr Barta. I just gave him an opportunity to justify himself to voters in Plzen, because I believe he is a victim of a political-economic mafia connected with the media."
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Dawn advocates and proposes in its platform a system of referendums for the Czech Republic as a way to introduce the possibility of recalling politicians and criminally prosecuting politicians, judges and state attorneys. In the interview, Okamura mentioned the Swiss system as one of his inspirations.
"We do not want to join the government... I do not want to stay in politics forever, I just want to push through changes and than leave it."
