Praha - Ex presidential hopeful Jan Švejnar confessed that he may head the campaign for a direct presidential ballot.
In an interview for radio station Frekvence 1 US-based economist Švejnar said that he has not talked to the Greens´ leader Martin Bursík yet.
But it was Bursík who promised his party is going to make sure next president will be elected by people, not by lawmakers.
"I share the same view - there should be a direct vote. This type of ballot has a positive effect - there is no notion of corruption," said US-based economist Jan Švejnar.
"I would head the campaign, why not. But I have not discussed this issue with Mr. Bursík yet," added Švejnar.
"It is not about our offer to Jan Švejnar. We would wait for what he comes up with and then we would be happy to support him," said Martin Bursík to Aktuálně.cz.
Nonetheless, Švejnar refuses to say whether he would run as a presidential candidate again next time.
"It is too early to say now. We will see," said Jan Švejnar. Even if there was a direct vote in the next presidential ballot, Jan Švejnar would not give a clear answer.
"I really cannot say now. It all depends on the situation, the candidates and so on."
Mulling a Senate post
In the meantime, there is an option Jan Švejnar would become a lawmaker. He confirmed he would accept the offer to run for the Senate seat.
"Yes, I got an offer for the Senate seat and I am thinking about it right now. But I have also other things on mind that I would like to do. So I don´t want to make any promises at this moment," said Švejnar.
He will know more in a few weeks´ time. But he has not specified from whom he received the offer for the Senate seat.
"I got the offer from all kinds of parties, as well as from the independent senators who supported me in the presidential vote. They all spoke about it to me, including Martin Bursík and Jiří Paroubek," said Jan Švejnar.
Should he go for the Senate, he would remain without a party allegiance, though.
"The most valuable thing about my candidacy is my non-party allegiance. I would like to remain independent in the future as well," explained Jan Švejnar.
What party is closer to his heart - the Greens or Social Democrats? "Both parties are capable of thinking rationally and we share the same view of some issues but we take a different stand in other issues," added Švejnar.
Should he accept the offer to become a lawmaker, he would strive for promoting "plurality of views and interests of public with the politicians."
