The death of former foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg resonates not only in the Czech Republic, but is also noticed in neighboring countries.
The news flooded the Austrian media in a big way. After all, Schwarzenberg spent a considerable part of his life in the country.
The regional newspaper Kleine Zeitung was among the first to report on his death. In addition to basic information, he also recalled his own interview with Schwarzenberg’s daughter Lila, who published a documentary about her father last year called My Father, Prince.
The national newspaper Kurier and the television Puls 24 later placed the news on the front pages of their websites. The largest Austrian radio and television company ORF then even changes the broadcast program. Die Presse called Schwarzenberg a “great European of the old school” and recalled that the ex-minister received a state award from President Petr Pavel two weeks ago.
According to ČTK, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer mentioned Austrian politicians as “a convinced European and a politician who stood up for human rights and EU values” in the former head of Czech diplomacy.
For example, the Vice President of the European Parliament, Othmar Karas, also joined. IN contribution with a joint photo he wrote that Schwarzenberg’s lifelong contribution to the European idea will never be forgotten.
In addition, Schwarzenberg was also remembered by our southern neighbors by individual Austrian journalists. “A Great European Has Died,” he wrote TV presenter and respected journalist Armin Wolf.
Thomas Mayer, one of the founders of the magazine Der Standard, and Schwarzenberg marked for a “great man” who was “a joy to listen to when he talked about historical contexts like an encyclopedia”.
A rare person
Also in Slovakia, information dominated the news websites from early in the morning. For example, the newspaper SME recalled in an article how Schwarzenberg described his reaction to November 17.
“I immediately signed up for duty in Prague, and the first step was prosaic – I found out that there was nothing in the president’s office, that there were no modern devices. So I went to Vienna to buy fax machines, printers and everything a modern office needed. That was back in November,” he recalled years ago.
“A precious person, democrat and freedom fighter Karel Schwarzenberg has left forever. I express my sincere condolences to his family, friends and everyone who appreciated his efforts to move the Czech Republic, but also Slovakia, as close as possible to the firm values of democracy,” Aktuality.sk quoted President Zuzana Čaputová as saying.
Former Slovak Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda also described the deceased politician as a “wise, kind, courageous and funny person”.
The German-language version of the website of the pan-European television station Euronews also wrote about the death of the former Czech foreign minister, “whose distinctive demeanor is remembered and remembered by many”.
“Sad news from Prague” shared Swedish politician, former prime minister and current ambassador to the World Health Organization Carl Bildt is also on his profile on X. “He was the wisest European – in the deepest sense of the word – that I had the good fortune to meet,” he wrote.
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Karel Schwarzenberg died
A member of a famous noble family, he was born on December 10, 1937 in Prague, but spent a considerable part of his life in involuntary exile.
After returning after 1989, he worked as chancellor of Václav Havel, was a senator and foreign minister. He died on November 11, 2023 in Vienna.
