Thousands of Czechs protested for a fourth week in a row on Tuesday (May\u00a021) against a justice minister they fear could influence a criminal case against Prime Minister Andrej Babis.<\/p>\n
Protesters say Justice Minister Marie Benesova’s past comments and actions were supportive of Babis, a billionaire-turned-politician who has been charged with illegally tapping \u20ac2 million in European Union funds a decade ago when he was in business. He denies the charges.<\/p>\n
As a member of parliament in 2017, Benesova was among a small group of lawmakers who did not support lifting Babis’s parliamentary immunity in the subsidy case. Earlier, in 2013, she served as justice minister in a caretaker government appointed by President Milos Zeman, an ally of Babis.<\/p>\n
People gathered at Wenceslas Square in the centre of Prague, moving the protest to a larger space as the number of participants grew. Organisers estimated attendance at 50,000, surpassing the previous protests with around 20,000.<\/p>\n
The crowd waved Czech and European Union flags and signs that read “You can’t break justice” or “I am ashamed of my prime minister”.<\/p>\n
“If such people (as Babis) represent us, it is not good,” said Josef Hovorka, 34, an NGO employee.<\/p>\n
“We could take inspiration from Austria, where politicians resigned for less,” he said, referring to a scandal that felled Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s coalition government at the weekend.<\/p>\n
Despite the protests, Babis and his ANO party have not suffered any significant drop in support ahead of a European Parliament election this weekend, garnering around 30 per cent in opinion polls.<\/p>\n