Einer der Höhepunkte der internationalen Klimakonferenz, die letzte Woche in New York stattfand, war zweifelsohne die Rede des tschechischen Präsidenten Vaclav Klaus. Dafür bekam er als einziger stehenden Beifall. In seiner Rede zeichnete sich Klaus vor allem als ein hochintelligenter Wirtschaftswissenschaftler aus, dem, trotz aller Politik, das kritische Denken nicht abhanden gekommen ist. Klaus verkörpert heute die zentralen Prinzipien der freien Welt und der freien Marktwirtschaft wie kein anderer westlicher Politiker. Ich habe weiter unten seine New Yorker Rede und ein Interview dazu im Wall Street Journal verlinkt. Viel Vergnügen beim Lesen:

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like first of all to thank the organizers of this important conference for making it possible and also for inviting one politically incorrect politician from Central Europe to come and speak here. This meeting will undoubtedly make a significant contribution to the moving away from the irrational climate alarmism to the much needed climate realism.

Being president of the Czech Republic is more like being England’s monarch than the president of the United States. While the Czech president has veto power over certain types of legislation, his role is supposed to be mostly ceremonial. But Vaclav Klaus—who was re-elected last month after being chosen by the Czech Parliament as head of state in 2003—has not been content to confine himself to ribbon cuttings and state dinners.

Mr. Klaus has become a globally prominent voice of skepticism about what he calls global-warming “alarmism.” This week, while in New York to address a gathering of fellow “non-alarmists” at a conference in Times Square, he took some time to sit down with members of the Journal’s editorial board to offer his dissenting views on Russia, Kosovo, America and of course, climate change.