Shall we learn?

The beginning of the year caught us a bit off guard. Practically no one is mentally prepared for the period between the fourteenth and twenty-sixth of January. Nor can they.

Once every five years, individuals who meet strict criteria can use their vote to help decide who will be the head of state. In our modified democracy, this is a problematic and paradoxical privilege that we see as an opportunity to have a strong say in public affairs. All of our qualities and character traits are reflected in this moment in a concentrated form. This year, it is particularly tense. More than between the candidates for five years, we are choosing in the second round of the presidential election between East and West, between gratuitous vulgarity and slightly gray elegance, between an arrogant, unchanging support team on the one hand and an as yet obscure group of advisors on the other. Celebrities are overdoing it in their recommendations on who to vote for, but there is often a sense of calculation and mannerism behind it. I am genuinely curious to see how the power of the media will manifest itself. So far, the "Babiš" ones are quite clearly siding with Zeman, while the public ones are recording Drahoš. It's a bit of a pity that there will still be some big TV debates, because in my opinion the debates have already taken place, and those who wanted to express their opinions have expressed them. Zeman was afraid of a personal meeting with eight candidates representing in absolute majority a different view of the presidency than his own, but he knows that now he has to rely on a confrontational instrument. Namely, that his decaying intellect will be enough to "cajole" a professor unaccustomed to an audience of millions. He is also likely to make moves similar to those made five years ago, when fake leaflets appeared in Blesk informing that Schwarzenberg was supported by the hated Posselt, or the lie that Mrs Schwarzenberg did not speak Czech. Filtering will be necessary.

We Czechs, ourselves, often say that our typical characteristic is envy. But we also say that when the stakes are high, we can pull together. We also believe that we can improvise and always find a solution. We are more conformist and opportunistic than we are willing to admit, but we have a sense of humor. In choosing one of the two candidates for the presidency, the individual mix of these characteristics will be revealed, and of course there is something specific for each. So a steady hand and a good choice. It's not that small a matter.