Prague cartoonist Mitrofanov: Babiš has taken the path of the traitor Čurda

Publicist and cartoonist Alexander Mitrofanov has sharply criticised former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his coalition in his latest column for pointedly ignoring the celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's independence in Kyiv, an event attended by high-ranking Western politicians.

According to the author, it all began even before Babiš came to power — with his notorious pre-election video in which he spoke to a rooster named Silver that supposedly refused to peck Ukrainian grain. Mitrofanov calls the clip part of a campaign designed to appeal to the crude anti-Ukrainian sentiments of the xenophobic segment of voters. It later emerged that Babiš himself was running his own business dealing in Ukrainian grain at the time.

Boycotting the anniversary of independence

After winning the elections, the author writes, Babiš as prime minister began systematically curtailing aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, justifying it with the phrase "we barely have enough for ourselves." The culmination of this policy, in the columnist's view, was the absence of any representatives of the ruling coalition at the celebration of Ukraine's 35th anniversary of independence in Kyiv, an event attended by numerous senior Western statesmen.

According to Mitrofanov, Czechia's honour was saved this time only by five people unaffiliated with the ruling coalition: President Petr Pavel, Senator Pavel Fischer, MPs Kateřina Demetraszwili and Pavel Žáček, and Otakar Foltýn, a representative of the president's military office. Volodymyr Zelensky personally thanked Pavel for his Independence Day greetings and his consistent support for the Ukrainian people.

"Heading down the Čurda path"

Mitrofanov explains why a hostile stance toward Ukraine today is effectively equivalent to supporting Russia: according to him, the Kremlin is seeking to restore the borders of the former empire, and without occupying Ukraine this plan is unachievable — which means it is precisely the Ukrainians' resistance that is currently securing peace for Czechia.

The author also recalls a recent incident: the ruling coalition blocked a planned trip to Ukraine by Barbora Urbanová (STAN party), deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, because she intended to express views there that did not align with a pro-Russian line. It was this episode, Mitrofanov says, that prompted the comparison of Babiš's policy to the path taken by Čurda — a symbol of collaboration in Czech history.

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Source: novinky.cz