It's really happening.
Today is truly a watershed day. Not everyone thinks it is, but I'm sure it is. Maybe it's generational and has to do with what each of us has experienced and what we remember. But not only that. Less than thirty years since the coup is still not that long, and it means that everyone over forty-five has had personal experience of communist dictatorship. With less than 20% of citizens under twenty, a significant majority of the country's population knows very well what communism is.
Today is the day when the President's appointed Prime Minister, along with his ministers, asks Parliament for a vote of confidence. The essential circumstance is the fact that the silent partner of this government is the orthodox, fundamentalist communists hidden behind the transparent nickname of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. And they are the same Communists who destroyed my grandfather's shoemaking business, branded my father a reactionary element and changed his job title just because he called the August occupation by its real name. I listened attentively today to the argumentative ping-pong between MEP Grebeníček and MEP Němcová, who were indirectly debating each other during today's parliamentary session. I realised that the communists are once again (as they did in the 1940s) abusing the democratic procedures that our contemporary society has earned and established. The implementation of the communist programme, which is based on destruction, class struggle, egalitarianism and the attempt to seize power by any means, is easier in a basic democracy. There are not enough defence mechanisms available. We know from history that major changes, including Bolshevik coups, have often come unexpectedly, suddenly, initiated by a random trigger, but also after careful preparation and implementation of a sophisticated plan. The emergence of a new government, which seems to be trusted, may be the trigger that will subtly and gradually unleash the forces that will change the conditions in our country. Therein lies the magic of the July 11 date. Wednesday's demonstration in Prague's Lesser Town Square was relatively modest, something between the larger hundreds and smaller thousands of participants. Solid technical equipment and acceptable moderation, along with a humorous interlude of searching for one of the microphones and paraphrasing Forman's lines from Hoří má panenko, were the positives of the event. The speeches of politicians and activists, the signs, posters and banners, the jingling of keys, the blowing of whistles all sounded good. But did so few citizens of our country really understand what was at stake? The solution offered by Babiš and Hamáček is not the best of bad options. It is an unmitigatedly lousy solution with huge risks and a gamble with the future.
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