Thousands protest against Babiš government on Prague's Old Town Square

A mass protest against the government of Andrej Babiš took place on Prague's Old Town Square. Even before the rally's official start at 4 p.m., several hundred people had already gathered on the square, according to rough estimates, with more protesters still arriving.

Demonstrators carried Czech flags, while Ukrainian and EU flags appeared near the stage. Banners right by the barriers read slogans such as "Enough debt from Bureš's red-brown freak show", while one next to a portrait of Andrej Babiš declared: "I don't care, I want to and will keep drawing subsidies, the Czech Republic will pay."

By the time the rally began, roughly a third to half of Old Town Square was already filled. Shortly afterward, whistles and boos rang out as Mikuláš Minář of the Million Moments for Democracy movement also greeted Andrej Babiš, who, he said, was surely watching from afar.

"Our country is following Slovakia's path"

Minář said it was good news that the planned change to public broadcaster funding would not take effect before the year is out. "Our country is following Slovakia's path. Babiš has bought himself immunity, and he's attacking the president, journalists, the courts and the judiciary. He's handing out more and more subsidies to agro-barons," he said, adding that the conflict of interest surrounding the Agrofert holding keeps growing. He also warned about the threat from Russia: "It's good that we're on the square and not somewhere in the woods, because we mustn't underestimate the threat from Russia or pretend it doesn't concern us. To our east lies an aggressive power that wants to tear down the democratic world."

Criticism of Babiš and companies linked to him

"The prime minister can still influence Agrofert from his position. Europe sees only two clean solutions. One is a blind trust, but it's unimaginable that such a giant could really be blinded. The other is no public money at all," said Mariana Novotná Nachtigallová of Million Moments, adding that firms tied to Agrofert keep receiving subsidies, without which many of them would be in the red.

According to her, the companies SynBiol and Hartenberg are further Babiš ventures drawing billions from public funds and the public insurance system, and this practice needs to stop — starting with people turning out to vote.

Other speakers included security and international relations expert Michal Smetana and former deputy defence minister Tomáš Kopečný, who described what could lie ahead regarding Russia, also mentioning the Baltic states: "In the coming years we'll see uglier things, more explosions, and quite possibly more deaths."

"The government has weakened a number of democratic safeguards"

The rally was organised by the Million Moments for Democracy association. As the invitation to the event put it, participants and invited guests were meant to reflect on what kind of state we live in today and what shape the country is in after less than a year of Andrej Babiš's rule, said the event's producer, Robin Suchánek.

According to the association, in less than a year the government has managed to weaken a number of safeguards meant to prevent excessive concentration of power: "It's undermining the independence of public administration. It's dismantling conflict-of-interest rules. It wants to change the funding of Czech Television and Czech Radio in a way that threatens their independence. It's careless about the security situation in the world. It's casting doubt on independent institutions, the courts, the president and the Constitutional Court. And it's running the country's finances in a way that several future generations will be paying the bill for," the organisers' statement reads.

According to the association, the Senate currently serves as a counterweight and brake on the concentration of power that Babiš and his allies are trying to expand further.

Even before the March rally on Letná, Million Moments called a gathering on Old Town Square back in February in support of President Petr Pavel, and again in May in support of Czech Television and Czech Radio. "In the upcoming elections, everyone will be able to show what they think of Babiš's style of governing, and we will urge people to use this opportunity and present the government with the bill," said the association's chairman, Mikuláš Minář.

Source: novinky.cz