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Anti-Trump protesters in the US might look to the Czech Republic: ‘We are an example’

www.theguardian.com

Anti-Trump protesters in the US might look to the Czech Republic: ‘We are an example’

Yet the contrasting political fate of one of Hungary’s neighbours with similar historical antecedents may provide a glimmer of hope for the prospects of mass protest laying foundations for a successful onslaught against Trump, leading to victory at the ballot box.

The Czech Republic – once part of what was cold war-era Czechoslovakia and, coincidentally, birthplace of Trump’s first wife, Ivana – is a possible blueprint for how street protest can bloom into a unified electoral strategy that eventually unseats a billionaire leader with autocratic aspirations and apparent scorn for democracy.

In 2018, a popular movement, Million Moments for Democracy, began organizing rallies in the Czech capital, Prague, and other cities to protest the anti-democratic tendencies of the country’s prime minister, Andrej Babiš, who had been labelled “the Czech Trump”.

1 comments

  • Well, the following PM Petr Fiala, much like Biden, inherited a COVID-wrecked economy and did a great recovery. Still, the recession became associated with him and we are still expecting ANO to be the strongest party and Fiala's fragile multicolor coalition may break apart... He is both pro-Ukraine and pro-Israel - the former is in agreement to the general population, while people are mostly indifferent for the latter (all Czech administrations have been quite pro-Israel though, supporting trade and speaking for it internationally). Babiš voters are not entirely pro-Russia (that would be half-Japanese Tomio Okamura's nationalistic SPD party - no relation to the German SPD) but they are condemning Fiala's unwavering support while Trump "did the bold move and asked for minerals in an art of the deal". Babiš is really like Trump but more competent - he bought media empires and doesn't change his plans on a whim. Still, his views are idiotic: he proposed to end licence-based funding for our public TV "because many TV owners may prefer other channels and this is taxing them too", suggesting it could be funded from the country's budget (which would make non-TV-owners pay too). It's stupid but it's a calculated move: his voter base watches TV but mostly non-public.