Thousands demonstrate in Prague against Babi's government

Thousands of people took to the streets in Prague against the course of the right-wing populist government led by billionaire Andrej Babis. The organizers of the “One Million Moments for Democracy” movement criticized, among other things, the fact that the government was not doing enough to strengthen security and fight disinformation. “We must not underestimate the danger from Russia and act as if it doesn’t concern us,” said the initiator Mikulas Minar.

The organizers called for strong participation in the local and partial senate elections on October 9th and 10th. They called on people not to vote for populist and extremist parties. In the Old Town Square in the city center, participants waved blue European flags as well as flags in the Czech and Ukrainian national colors.

Criticism of alleged conflict of interest

A repeated point of criticism was that Prime Minister Babis was in a conflict of interest as the founder of a large corporation, even if he had entrusted his assets to a trust fund. The cabinet's plans to finance public media from the state budget in the future also met with resistance.

Only recently did Babis make people sit up and take notice with statements that questioned the independence of the judiciary. He spoke of a “mafia that locks you away to order” and “judges who make decisions without evidence.” Lawyers' and judges' associations reacted indignantly and saw this as an attack on the jurisdiction.

A coalition made up of the right-wing populist ANO von Babis and two small parties on the right-wing fringe - the Motorists party and the Freedom and Direct Democracy group (SPD) - has been in power in the Czech Republic since December. At the EU level, the ANO is involved in the Patriots for Europe faction alongside the French Rassemblement National (RN) and the Hungarian Fidesz.