Thousands gather at ‘Czech Republic First’ rally over energy crisis
The Czech Republic is facing an autumn of discontent after an estimated 70,000 demonstrators gathered in Prague to protest at soaring energy bills and demand an end to sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Far-right and extreme-left elements coalesced at a “Czech Republic First” rally to call for a new agreement with Moscow over gas supplies and a halt to the sending of arms to Ukraine, while urging the centre-right government of the prime minister, Petr Fiala, to resign.
The demonstration in Wenceslas Square – historically a site of mass dissent in the Czech capital, Prague – appeared to spell an end to a relatively placid period of domestic politics since Fiala took office last December.
His five-party coalition had on Friday survived a parliamentary confidence vote, triggered by the opposition, which accuses the government of being unable to deal with rising domestic fuel bills and bring under control an inflation rate that has surged to 18%, among the highest in the EU.
The rally, part-organised by the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) and the rump Communist party that once ruled the former Czechoslovakia, featured calls for military neutrality and complaints over the arrival of Ukrainian refugees. About 400,000 have been granted residence in the Czech Republic since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Alongside banners bearing slogans such as “The best for Ukrainians and two jumpers for us”, Zuzana Majerová Zahradníková of the hard-right, anti-EU Trikolora party told protesters: “Fiala’s government may be Ukrainian, it may be Brussels, but it is definitely not Czech.”
Some demonstrators wore T-shirts praising the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, while others carried banners voicing anti-EU and anti-Nato
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