People in Pardubice (Pardubitz), East Bohemia, demonstrate in support of Czech President Petr Pavel. Photo: Josef Vostarek/CTK/AP/dpa
Keystone
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in more than 400 towns and villages in the Czech Republic to demonstrate their support for liberal President Petr Pavel. As reported by the CTK news agency, the rally participants were responding to a call by the “Millions of Moments for Democracy” initiative to support the head of state in a dispute with the right-wing populist government.
According to the organizers, up to 90,000 participants had already gathered in the capital Prague on 1 February for a rally with the same goal. This time, the other cities and smaller municipalities in the country should follow suit. On 21 March, the same protest initiative plans to organize a mass rally on Letna Hill in Prague with the slogan “We will not let our future be stolen!”.
“I stand by the president”
According to CTK, 8,000 to 10,000 people gathered in Brno, the Czech Republic’s second largest city, while in some smaller towns there were only a few hundred. Photos and videos published in the media of the rallies in cities such as Ostrava and Pardubice showed people carrying pictures of President Pavel. However, there were also banners with crossed-out photos of members of the government or with slogans such as “I stand by the president” or “I am ashamed of the current government”.
Dispute over ministerial posts
At the end of January, President Pavel declared that Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, who is also the leader of the Motorists party, which is part of the government, was trying to blackmail him. The Motorists are demanding a ministerial post for their honorary chairman Filip Turek. However, he is said to have made racist and sexist comments in the past, which is why Pavel rejects him.
The coalition of Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ ANO party, the Motorists and the ultra-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party has a majority of 108 of the 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.