Ing. Jan Sláma

"Such funny stories, Motyčka's daughter said he went to Prague and was appointed Minister of Construction. This was on St. Nicholas Day, so it was quick, that is, on the 5th, 6th of December (1990) she said: 'Daddy said to call him, here on this number in Prague.' So I called from a phone booth there, he says, 'Honzík, get seventeen, at least fourteen, people and you will be my deputy for the construction ministry. I didn't go because I was getting divorced, I would have to move to Prague, etc. At that time I was back in the "kitchen" and it was a bit of an Amarcord memory. The first election, sometime in June 1990, so I was sitting in the office of the minister, it was still Czechoslovakia or ČSFR or it was the hyphens and all that kind of foolery. I was sitting there, now everyone was meeting there, like information by phone, results, arrangements, then we went to the headquarters of the People's Party, then we came back and he called, Čarnogurský was his name, he was Slovak, a People's Party man too. I was sitting there, so I heard what he and Motyčka were saying, and then I said to Motyčka: 'Mr Engineer, but we're fucked again, this kind of politicking, the ethos has fallen. He said to me: 'You know what? That's how it is, when you're in a party, it's not that what you think is good, that's what you're going to do. There's a lot of things you're not going to like, or now's the perfect time, start your own party, now's the time. Get it organized and then you'll do it your way. Then, after a month or so, he said to me: 'You see, some guy named Vašek Klausů beat you to it.' The OF (Civic Forum) resulted from it, that's a kind of Amarcord memory, but there I decided internally that I wouldn't dance with politicians, I don't have the equipment for that."

"We were already doing the Grand Prix, the site, I was intrigued by that. They then, it was a anagram, as a great tribute to me they offered to get me a kind of a card for a Communist Party candidate, so that I would be able to do it. That's when we got into a conflict, because I thanked them and ... but that was already in 1986, 1987, they didn't have that kind of power anymore and they were already insecure, comrades. That's where the company director saved me, that's what I mentioned with my father. They were going to send me to the construction 'to work with the shovel' and he (the director) told them, deal with it comrades, whatever you want, but I need him to finish the Grand Prix, now it's called Masaryk Circle."