Czechs Don't Want Democracy

In the Czech Republic, one frequently hears the question: “Why are things still the same?” Indeed, according to the latest public opinion survey by the Institute of Public Opinion (IVVM), only 40% of Czechs themselves feel satisfied with the current state of democracy and affairs in their country.

What then, is the true state of affairs and democracy in the Czech Republic? The answer lies in exploring ten popular assumptions on which many base their opinions when evaluating the current state of affairs in the Czech Republic.

1. In 1989, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary were on the same starting line

Not true. In Poland, communism was undermined by the Catholic church from its outset. In a country of ardent believers, the church, even though suppressed, never relinquished its position as an institution “above” communism. The Solidarity movement, which recruited millions of Poles into its ranks, entered into a synergistic relationship with the Catholic church, thus becoming the main catalyst for the downfall of communism not just in Poland, but along the entire Iron Curtain.

In Hungary, communism began to be undermined from the 1960s, shortly after the suppressed Hungarian uprising in 1956, via a system of officially tolerated liberal economic “reforms” of the market place. This system, which introduced capitalist economics and thinking, was significant not just economically, but socially, since it taught people that a different way of thinking and doing, other than official communist ideology, was associated with greater reward.

Czechoslovakia’s battle with communism peaked in the Prague Spring of 1968. In the ensuing period of normalization, virtually all independent and democratic-thinking persons and institutions were stifled. For the Czech nation, this underestimated period resulted in the brutal devastation of Czech society and its norms.

2. History was against the Czechs

From the Hussite events to the 20th century, Czechs continued to suffer not only defeat, but in many cases, weren’t even allowed to fight: in 1938, Czechoslovakia was given to Hitler in the Munich agreement; in 1968 Russian tanks rolled into Prague to quash the Prague spring of 1968. Instead of celebrating victory, the nation was forced to celebrate martyrdom. One only needs to look at major holidays and anniversaries: Saint Wenceslas, Jan Hus, and the recent martyrs of communism Milada Horáková and Jan Palach. In 1895, twenty-three years before he became Czechoslovakia’s first president, Tomás G. Masaryk called this a “celebration of false martyrdom” in that celebration of defeat rarely leads to positive change.

Such endless defeats inevitably led to adaptive responses. Here, the Czechs adopted the path of least resistance, which in time became practically encoded as a national character trait. In 1922, Czech psychologist and Senator Frantisek Mares wrote: ” the Czech nation was pursued by its enemies all the way to the boundary of moral death…instead of an increase in pride, the result was an overcompensation in conformity.”

Finally, being situated in the heart of Europe, while contributing to cultural richness, offers very little time for historical rest. An 82 year-old man, who has never left his Czech village has had his nation re-named five times and has lived through six different political regimes.

3. Czech character

The same circumstances that led to an increase in conformity at the societal level led to withdrawal into family, cottage, and self – to areas where nothing and no one could enter. Here, the Czechs became among the best: the nation created – and still creates – an unbelievable amount of writers, poets, musicians, and scientists, not to mention world class tennis, hockey and soccer players.

However, the progressive withdrawal of the individual into his inner world eventually led to the inability to accept objective criticism. To this day, such a vital flaw continues to stifle constructive dialog, the “modus operandi” of democracy-building. One only needs to look at the reactions of our chief political protagonists Václav Klaus and Milos Zeman to any criticism, to see this malevolent character trait in full bloom.

The communist laboratory of class struggle not only produced the seeds of jealousy between Czechs, but also a complex labeled as the “post-totalitarian syndrome.” According to the internationally-funded study by Martina Klicperová (Psychiatric Institute, Academy of Sciences, CR 1997), this syndrome is characterized by the following traits: absence of belief in a higher order; positive reaction to populist ideology; unwillingness to seek out causes of dissatisfaction; need for immediate gratification; preferring easy solutions over difficult ones, and a longing for the days of the past.

More importantly, Klicperová’s study concludes that the above character traits weren’t in and of themselves formed solely under the years of totalitarian rule, but that they reflect the basic nature of pre-1948 Czech society as well. Furthermore, their continuing presence serves “not only as a sign of the past, but also as a marker of a disposition to drift back to a totalitarian state.”

4. Czech atheism

One of the most undervalued of Czech character traits in terms of its significance. The Hussite defeats resulted in a permanent weakening of the role of the church and of religion as a whole, both at the individual and state level. Within their inner world, Czechs increasingly turned to their own convictions rather than to external influences. This eventually led to the formation of a different, or “Czech” truth. In the end, faith as a principle in and of itself – not just in god, was pushed out of the picture entirely.

To this day, this remains a severe handicap, since in order to develop democratic principles of conduct, an aspect of faith i.e. belief that some sort of higher order exists, needs to be present. While young America adopted the motto “In God We Trust”, the Czechs chiseled “A Nation Unto Itself” onto their new National theater.

In today’s Europe there isn’t a nation with a functioning democracy that has a society with an atheistic underpinning, one in which relations between church and state are ill-defined. Put another way, it is difficult to establish and maintain democracy in an environment such as exists in today’s Czech Republic.

5. Czechs experienced democracy

Only a little, and not enough. Czechoslovakia was founded as an independent nation state in 1918 on the soil of the former Austrian empire, with its culture and traditions. Democratic ideals were imported to the young Czech nation principally via a small group of elite intellectuals, led by Tomás G. Masaryk. Within a short time, the young Czech nation emerged as a shining centerpiece in the center of Europe, developing into the seventh largest industrialized state of its day. However, much of its success was built on the preexisting Austrian work ethic and sense of functional bureaucracy. Czech society worked extremely well, but more along regional lines of cooperation between the mayor and local factory owner, who kept any “vertical” connections to Prague at a distance. This is still the case today.

In Prague, the picture of central government was blurred at best: the 20 years of the so-called First Republic (1918-1938) saw 20 cabinets come and go, innumerable waxy coalitions, and the progressive disintegration of the Senate (as is happening today).

Despite achieving enormous economic success, the young Czech nation was unable to form its own political identity. In 1926, the famous Czech author Karel Capek wrote: “today, the only thing that remains somewhat unclear is, just what remains as being truly Czech as far as political movements in this republic are concerned.” Eleven years later, the First Republic came to an end. The segment of her population that linked her most to democratic Europe – the democratic elite and intellectuals – had to flee for their lives. Those that remained were exterminated by the Germans. Therefore, the seeds of democracy, planted just 20 short years earlier, never properly took root. It’s no coincidence that shortly after WWII, Czechoslovakia was the only Central European country to vote the communists into power.

6. In 1989, Czechs got democracy.

No. Czechoslovakia became free. Freedom and democracy are not equally related, since democracy can not exist without freedom, but freedom can get along very nicely without democracy.

It is far easier to become free than it is to become democratic, since the latter is dependent on certain “pillars.” These include a functioning justice system (equality for all before the law), freedom of the press and media, and an active civic sector. Achieving true democracy is multi-layered, complex, and extremely time-consuming task.

7. 1989 represented change.

Not as significant as we think. As mentioned, Czechs got freedom, not democracy. Following the jingling of keys in Wenceslas square in 1989, millions returned to their homes and waited. High expectations were replaced with frustration, then confusion, and eventually a national “sour mood,” that president Havel has pointed out.

In 1989, there was no revolution. The terms velvet (used to describe the revolution) and revolution are anachronisms. 1989 did bring some new actors onto the stage, but the production remained the same. Over the ensuing eleven years, unlike Poland or Hungary, a vast portion of the ruling elite in the Czech Republic remained in power.

At the political level, the Czech Republic is the only post-communist state in which the communist party has not renounced its ties to its past, a past in which the party authorized the execution, imprisonment and persecution of thousands of its citizens, and the shooting into the backs of innocent men, women and children as they tried to flee to freedom. Not only has this party – and those in it – never been punished, but its former members, old and young, still hold key positions in the Czech Republic. Despite such a past, the communist party continues to enjoy the support of one out of five Czech voters.

At the social economic level, we now know that the transformation engineered by Václav Klaus was a sham. Instead of capitalism bringing actual capital, a unique form of socialism was engineered, in which the government artificially kept inflation and unemployment low by maintaining bloated state-run sectors, such as health care and transportation. The selling off of real state assets and the privatization of banks was purposefully stalled, so that the state-controlled banks would continue to provide loans to state enterprises, political parties, and their projects. The philosophy of “the market will decide,” supported by the arrogant and self-confident statements of the premier, neglected other vital aspects of democracy-building, such as a the establishment of a functional justice system. All this served to put the brakes on democratic developments.

Eleven years after 1989, two and a half million Czech pensioners and families with children have their bread put on the table by the state. The standard of living for one out of three Czechs is therefore completely controlled by the state.

8. Czechs live in a democratic country

No, Czechs live in a post-communist country with democratic institutions which don’t work completely democratically, and in which totalitarian practices continue. Here are several examples: Conflict of interest between the public and private sector continues to be omnipresent. Positions of directors, board members, and other controlling positions of power are filled by politicians, their relatives, and associates. The wife of an eminent politician sitting on the board of directors of a banking giant, and a leading Senator serving as bank president are but two examples.

The platforms of political parties and statements by their leaders don’t reflect their real functioning. The pre-election platform of the civic democratic party (ODS) supported EU entry and aggressively opposed social democratic (CSSD) policies. Shortly after the elections, the ODS entered into an “opposition coalition agreement” with CSSD, ODS leader Václav Klaus today ranks among the most vocal Euroskeptics in Central Europe. The coalition ignores the voter in more important ways, recently pushing through changes in the constitution that would limit the powers of the president, and in a separate bill, the re-distributing of votes. These changes, dreamed up in the coalition’s chambers, were pushed through the coalition-controlled parliament, and presented to the voter as a done deal. At no time were the changes mentioned in either party’s pre-election platform, nor was a referendum suggested by either side. Political parties continue to focus on their centralization of power, instead of the voter, who interests them once every four years.

9. The Czechs want democracy

Not true. Tomás G. Masaryk once wrote “as the majority, so the nation.” What then, is the position of today’s Czech citizen regarding democracy?
The latest public opinion surveys from IVVM and the Center of Empiric Studies (STEM) show, that citizens’ opinions on just what democracy means to them center on two areas: the fulfillment of economic expectations, and the guarantee of self-fulfillment. Only 19% mention equality before the law, while only 1% feel that democracy is associated with freedom to criticize government. Democracy’s association with responsibility, and other pre-conditions needed for its development are not mentioned at all.

For the Czech citizen, such an incomplete view of democracy means that criticism of it must increase. In a STEM poll of April 2000, 64% of Czechs had a “very severe” view of democracy (two years ago, the figure was 40%), while three out of four think that democracy is in a crisis of “far-reaching” proportions. The same percentage are unhappy with the current state of politics as well.

In an IVVM poll of January 2000, although 60% agreed with the statement that “democracy can solve problems” they also felt that it doesn’t, since “people fail.” This telling survey shows that Czech citizens view political systems based on their previous experiences – as something controlled from the top down, and not, as is the case of democracy, determined from the bottom up. In 1992, future Czech premier Milos Zeman himself wrote “the political masses shall remain happy, aggressive, and dumb, while the majority, who cannot be considered citizens but only inhabitants, shall look to pass their own responsibilities to a leader.”

For the majority of Czech citizens, the concept of democracy as both an individual responsibility as well as a legal and national system is extremely remote. Most Czechs are still not convinced that the differences in the capitalist and communist work ethics are that great. Czechs associate democracy with the ability to earn capitalistic wages, while retaining the rewards of a socialist state. For example, in a STEM poll of this year, three-fourths of Czechs want the state to continue to subside their already low apartment rentals.

Therefore, Czechs don’t want democracy not just because they don’t know it, but because they don’t know what they can actually expect from it. Nor are they aware of its need for sacrifice and its true benefits. Furthermore, the distorted ideas that Czechs have concerning democracy negatively influence their decisions regarding other crucial issues such as European identity and EU entry, issues which are predominantly judged by criteria of possible economic gains.

10. Today’s Czech Republic is developing in uneven fashion.

True. In rapidly emerging from a dysfunctional past and confronting a new reality, the Czech Republic is at that point where paradoxes dominate. Three examples may suffice:

In contrast to premier Zeman’s improving EU accession performance and striving for EU membership stands his being sentenced for libel, wherein he continues to ignore the court’s verdict to the point that he is now being fined by the courts and his personal assets are in danger of being seized.
No sooner was the Czech Republic a NATO member, than the ministry of foreign affairs in tragic-comical form, stated that it didn’t agree with NATO’s tactics in Kosovo, since NATO “decided on Kosovo before we became members.”

Although the average citizen is easily, and usually quickly fined for not paying tax for TV ownership (the so-called public TV tax), he is able to view examples (on the same TV) of directors, politicians, and bank chairmen merrily stealing funds, with no legal consequence whatsoever.

Solutions: The path to positive change begins by clearly identifying both the current state of affairs, as well as mistakes of the past. The above ten points can therefore be considered a starting point, rather than a closing critique.

Push the understanding of democracy. Very little has been done to further democracy and to support its understanding. Democracy cannot establish itself. The campaign to promote democracy in the Czech Republic is even weaker than was the campaign for NATO entry. Here, not only Czech, but western politicians are to blame, since the latter continue to fall into the trap of assuming that once freedom is in place and democratic institutions are established, democracy will follow. It’s time the west increased funding to institutions and organizations that promote democracy, especially the activities of the civic sector.

One must learn to crawl before walking. While emphasizing that the establishment of democracy does take time, actions that result in quick (non-financial) rewards for all should be publicized and practiced. The recent bill giving pedestrians near absolute right-of-way at crosswalks is an example. Although the bill goes into effect in six months, it already has a 75% approval rating, and many drivers and pedestrians have already begun to act according to the bill’s intent. Such examples, even though small, serve as crucial building blocks for developing the psychological substrate of democracy.
Establish values as being meaningful. Every society needs values upon which it stands and which it considers to be meaningful. In order for values to emerge as a meaningful concept in the Czech Republic, two things must happen: Czechs must reconcile with their past, and an effective justice system must be established.

Reconcile with the past. Czech society continues to suppress tremendous inner conflicts. Inability to confront the past continues to poison everyday activities. The cure lies in opening up the past, so that the sore can be allowed to drain. At the same time, justice must be done. However, this should be a justice of reconciliation, not retribution, something similar to the Republic of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation commission, headed by Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu. This is also an area that offers tremendous opportunity for involvement by political parties, churches, civic organizations, etc.

Establish equality before the law. After the fall of any totalitarian regime, the need for true law and order is always the greatest. When looking back to the government of Konrad Adenauer, West Germany’s post- WWII chancellor, historians praise him most for establishing the rule of law in which Germans could believe, which ruled above interests of the state, and which contributed to the emergence of modern German identity. The recent blocking by the Czech parliament of the legal reform package, and the statement by the state prosecutor that out of 100,000 cases a year, 70,000 are postponed, means that the Czech Republic has not learned a valuable lesson. Establishing a functional justice system with equality before the law leads to other positive chain reactions, such as the development of meaningful investigative journalism

Reform political parties. Today’s political parties are heavily tainted by a past which had very little to do with democracy. Instead, they are dominated by the personalities of their leaders to the extent that other opinions are not tolerated. An example is their stance to citizen initiatives; in the west, parties and their leaders fight for endorsement of such initiatives, whereas in the Czech Republic such initiatives, especially when they address the style of politics, are immediately criticized.The first party that shall recognize its true role and treat the voter as a true partner, while offering him concrete solutions to daily problems, shall achieve success in unprecedented fashion.

Increase the role of institutions. In order to block the increasing centralization in the Czech Republic, the role of certain institutions must be strengthened. The election of the president should be done directly by the voters instead of through parliament, and his existing powers should not be limited further. The Senate, which 66% of Czechs consider today to be a useless institution, should either reform itself into a truly independent body, or cease all together.

Decentralization is important, since people will start to separate politics from the politician, and focus on politics, not personality. One only needs to look at England, where Winston Churchill was not re-elected as prime-minister, despite leading England to victory.

Put the church on firm ground. According to a STEM poll taken this year, two thirds of Czechs consider the church to be vital to Czech life. Even though the churches, especially the Catholic church, have done little in the way of stepping out of their cloistered mentality and providing pastoral support beyond their walls, the time is ripe for greater governmental recognition of the positive potential role the churches have to offer.

Look in the mirror. On Jan. 1, 1990, Václav Havel warned us not to look for the causes of the negative effects of the past 40 years outside of us, but to search within. We need to begin to look for the answer to the question “What does it mean to be Czech?” Czechs are now at a unique point in history where, for the first time in a long while, no one is telling Czechs what to do. It is a time where they can shape their own destiny. Many citizens, and a few politicians, are starting to recognize that in such a time, they indeed can play a crucial role. The construction of democracy has begun.

This article also appeared in the publications Lidové noviny, Americké Listy, Prítomnost, and was read on the air at Radio Free Europe.