(Bloomberg) -- Thousands of protesters took to the streets in multiple Czech cities on Wednesday to demand the government’s resignation as public frustration over the worst cost-of-living crisis in three decades mounts.
In Prague, a rally organized by a group known as Czech Republic First drew a crowd in the “lower” tens of thousands, according to police estimates. Speakers blamed the European Union for surging energy costs, railed against NATO membership and called for mending ties with Russia as a way to secure cheaper supplies of natural gas.
It’s the second demonstration in the capital this month that highlights political forces tapping anger over rampant inflation in the former communist-led nation. Czech opposition groups, including the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy, are gaining in popularity by criticizing the government for doing too little to help households and businesses.
“We want to turn this country’s political direction around 180 degrees,” Jiri Havel, an organizer who previously initiated protests against pandemic lockdowns and promoted bleach as a cure for Covid-19, told the crowd. “We want to achieve this change through non-violent means.”
The public protests have been led by activists demanding military neutrality. They have also urged the government to prioritize support for Czech entrepreneurs over foreign businesses, which dominate the country’s economy.
In municipal elections last weekend, the main opposition party of billionaire Andrej Babis, who was ousted as prime minister last year, came out on top in most major cities by mobilizing protest votes against the government. It lost to the ruling parties in the two biggest cities, Prague and Brno.
Read more: Energy Crisis Empowers Europe’s Populists Harnessing Anger
One year into its four-year term, the five-party ruling coalition is united in its support for western sanctions against Moscow, as well as backing Ukraine’s war effort with arms supplies and other aid. The Czech Republic boasts the lowest unemployment and one of the smallest public debt burdens in the EU, giving the government fiscal muscle during economic crises.
But the center-right administration of Prime Minister Petr Fiala took months to begin subsidizing electricity and gas bills for households and some companies.
“The energy crisis, high inflation and growing economic uncertainty are having a major effect on the mood in the society,” Lubomir Kopecek, a political science professor at Masaryk University, said before the protest.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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