Thousands of people rallied in Prague on Friday to protest the Czech government’s continued support of sanctions against Russia and call for an early election so that a new government can negotiate with Moscow before the winter energy crunch hits.
Under the banner of ‘Czechia First’ — an allusion to former President Donald Trump’s populist slogan ‘America First’ — thousands of people gathered in the historic Wenceslas Square in central Prague on Friday, coinciding with the national holiday celebrating the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918.
The protesters called on the government of centrist Prime Minister Piatr Fiala and his coalition government to step down so that early elections can be held and a new leader begin negotiations with Russia on the energy crisis. Despite Fiala leading the notionally Euro-sceptic Civic Democratic Party (ODS), his government has taken one of the stronger pro-Ukraine lines of any in Europe and NATO.
Under his leadership, the Czech Republic, or Czechia, has taken in more refugees from Ukraine per capita than any other EU member-state, with some 450,000 being granted visas entitling them to welfare programmes and access to healthcare at the expense of the Czech taxpayer.
To put the figure in context, the number of refugees allowed in from Ukraine this year equals over four per cent of the total population of the Central European country.
Fiala’s government, with Prague controlling the rotating EU Presidency, has also been instrumental in instituting sanctions against Russia, which many cite as a key reason for the rising cost of energy.
The Czech government was also the first NATO member to ship tanks to Ukraine in April of this year.
Like other countries in Europe, the Czech Republic has been grappling with soaring inflation, hitting an astonishing 18 per cent in September over the previous year, driven in large part by the energy crisis.
One protester in Prague, Eva Frantova, told the AFP news agency: “The government we have is the worst in the history of the Czech Republic and I’m not the only one who thinks so.”
“Russia’s not our enemy, the government of warmongers is the enemy,” another protester said.
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Fiala and some of his top government ministers are expected to travel to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv (Kiev) on Monday to demonstrate their support of the war effort against Russia.
In response to the protest, Interior Minister Vít Rakušan posted a picture of the Czech and Ukrainian flags together on social media, adding: “We know who is our friend who bleeds even for our freedom. And we also know who our enemy is and we will not let him (Putin) steal the concept of patriotism.”
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
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