Eastern Europe should be great success story of democracy. After decades of Soviet rule, in which economy went bad and every criticism was depressed, countries like Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia made best of ir new freedom: ir economic capacity Multiplied within a very short time, social movements and prestigious universities were created everywhere.
The electorate used ir new power and certain democratic governments to reclaim m if y were not satisfied with ir demands. Political scientists have come to conclusion that democracy in Eastern European countries has rapidly consolidated – and that it will be stable in future.
This optimistic narrative is true in many respects. Stroll one can see through Prague, one sees a modern city. Young people wear latest fashion trends, cafes are full. The Czechs, one might think, can be lucky.
A billionaire wants to destroy systemBut sham is deceiving. Despite great strides, many Czechs are increasingly bitter. Although society is prosperous, many have feeling of being deceived by political establishment. Although most foreigners who are seen in streets of Prague invest ir money in beer, souvenirs and museum tickets, re are still more and more prejudices against migrants in society. And so, despite a generally well-functioning system, voters will favor Andrej Babiš, a billionaire who wants to destroy this system, in spite of parliamentary election on 20 and 21 October.
Babiš is something of a mixture of Donald Trump and Silvio Berlusconi. It belongs to a good part of national media, at same time wiggled Babiš as politically incorrect, which is strictly against migration. However, he also uses his political influence to enrich himself: as finance minister, he has influenced EU's funding programmes, so that his companies have also benefited from it by chance.
Like or populists, Babiš is as if he were an outsider ill-treated by elites. When one of his newspapers announced his candidacy, she not only took a huge picture of Babiš on first page, but also presented it with tape over his mouth – as if " system" wanted to silence him.
At beginning of his political efforts, it seemed that Babiš, like Trump and Berlusconi, would not be particularly successful. But n he put on shamelessness and media to dominate debate in country and to defame his opponents. In polls, his Ano movement ("yes") runs a few days before election. Even if it does not suffice for absolute majority, Babiš is expected to win clearly.
Moreover, Ano will not be only anti-system party in new parliament. There are also right extremists of SPD and left extremist KSCM. In end, forces in Parliament that reject democracy are likely to dominate. For Babiš This could mean that he can comfortably find a government coalition.
Date Of Update: 13 October 2017, 12:03
