Czech Republic: coalition party fined for inciting hatred
The far-right party Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), a junior partner in the Czech coalition government led by Czech parliamentary speaker Tomio Okamura, has been fined by a Prague court for displaying election posters deemed to incite hatred. The judge ruled that the posters had stirred up hatred against refugees. Commentators debate the pros and cons of the judgement.
Vile values from the outset
Guest columnist Jindřich Šidlo writes in Sme:
“We have all known for a long time that regardless of his background, Okamura is a xenophobe, a racist and, what's more, openly pro-Russian. The politics of his party, which for him is nothing more than a means to an end, have been based on these 'values' from the very beginning. In 2018 he questioned the fact that the Roma were Holocaust victims and got away with it. His New Year's address this year was the most repugnant outburst of anti-Ukrainian hate speech ever witnessed in the Czech Republic from such a high-ranking politician. Any decent person would ignore Tomio Okamura. Yet in the current Czech coalition government he is, quite fittingly, one of the most respected figures.”
Coalition partners silent on the judgement
Reflex finds it baffling that the other two governing parties in Prague clearly have no issue with the SPD:
“The leader of the Motorists' Party, [Foreign Minister] Petr Macinka, responded to the question of whether he found it problematic that the SPD was, according to the court, inciting hatred, saying: 'Hm. So what?' He said he had not observed any hateful behaviour in debates with the SPD. Macinka is thus sticking to his own, unrealistic course. [The largest governing party] Ano and the Motorists' Party are burying their heads in the sand, but they really need to pay attention. If the SPD is officially classified by the court as a racist party, that's not just a problem for the government but for the entire Czech Republic.”
Okamura will only benefit from this
Lidové noviny sees the verdict in a different light:
“This whole affair – the criminal complaint, the subsequent exemplary verdict and further court proceedings – will only work in Tomio Okamura's favour. Why? Because the posters, which would otherwise have been forgotten, will remain a topic of discussion. The SPD can emphasise that its criticism of social conditions has become a target of the establishment, and perhaps some will even buy that narrative. Not even a final conviction will rid us of negative campaigns. On the contrary, it would contribute to increased 'judicial harassment', meaning that every campaign will keep the police busy.”