Several hundred protesters with taped mouths gathered on Prague\u2019s Old Town Square on Tuesday for a silent protest against Prime Minister Andrej Babi\u0161. They accuse him of lying, undermining the independence of the police, conducting a purge in the state administration and cooperating with extremist parties.<\/p>\n
There was no booing or chanting at this demonstration in the centre of Prague on Tuesday night, but the message was clear \u2013 people held up banners reading \u201cEnough of Babi\u0161\u201d, \u201cWill you investigate yourself?\u201d and \u201cWe\u2019ll be better off without you\u201d. Babi\u0161\u2019 critics protested against the fact that the country has a prime minister charged with EU subsidy fraud, a government which failed to win a confidence vote in parliament yet undertakes extensive personnel changes and far-reaching decisions and a government-in-the-making which will have to rely on support from the Communist Party.<\/p>\n
The silent protest, organized by the initiative A Million Moments for Democracy, was in reference to the prime minister\u2019s alleged refusal to answer their questions in the presence of journalists and was meant to symbolize those who were being removed from office or prevented from speaking.<\/p>\n
After one of the organizers gave a short \u201csilent speech\u201d with the help of banners, the crowd made its way to the office of the government, swelling to around a thousand people as it reached its destination. There the protesters spray-painted their message on the wall opposite the government building and dispersed in silence. The initiative A Million Moments for Democracy, which wants to collect a million signatures in support of \u201ca decent prime minister\u201d is organizing another protest \u2013 this time a vocal one \u2013 on Wenceslas Square in early June.<\/p>\n
The Office of the Government has denied that the prime minister was not ready to talk to the protesters saying that Mr. Babi\u0161 was in contact with the organizers, who had rejected several offers of a planned meeting, and a date was still being negotiated.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Mr. Babi\u0161 has come closer to forming a second coalition government with the Social Democrats and tacit support from the Communist Party, and neither the charges against him nor the arguments of his critics appear to have undermined his strong public support. So what is behind Mr. Babis\u2019 unswerving popularity? A question I put to sociologist Jan Hartl.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrej Babi\u0161 speaks in a way that people can understand, he does not address abstract, general issues, he speaks concretely and to the point and when he explains his position he gives many practical examples and this is the kind of communication that people understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he has been promising handouts. Is it to do with economic expectations as well?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYes, he is perceived as a successful businessman and the good economic results of our country are attributed to his skills. Whenever he can he gives examples of how the previous political administrations were incompetent whereas he achieved very good economic results.\u201d<\/p>\n So people believe he will look after their interests, better than anyone else?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYes, yes, that\u2019s it exactly. And as far as the accusations of fraud are concerned people do not trust the judiciary too much, the police and state attorneys, and this is linked to the fact that the Czechs perceive their politicians very critically. They think that politics is a dirty business, that the majority of politicians are crooks and that there are scandals linked to all political parties. So the public does not see this as a strong argument against Babi\u0161.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Several hundred protesters with taped mouths gathered on Prague\u2019s Old Town Square on Tuesday for a silent protest against Prime Minister Andrej Babi\u0161. They accuse him of lying, undermining the independence of the police, conducting a purge in the state administration and cooperating with extremist parties. There was no booing or chanting at this demonstration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[68,177],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n