The Immigration Menace and the Background of the Czech Liberal Democracy Crisis: Who Will Offer a Solution?

Relations between the establishment and the people on the current migration crisis explains the negative attitude of the Czech society towards immigration and afterwards focuses on an analysis of those Czech right-wing parties which are set against immigration and Islamisation, describes mutual relations between these organizations and its international ties and takes a look at a political backstage. This analysis is not exhaustive; its goal is to outline discussed problems and put forward possible solutions in a well-arranged way.

The failure of liberal democracy and desire for change

The migration crisis has been deepening. European countries have been facing a massive refugee wave from those ones, which are totally different. This wave has already affected the Czech Republic, deepening a chasm between the ruling establishment and the people. An overwhelming majority of the Czechs refuse immigrants from understandable reasons. Instead of lending an ear to the people, the government has been preparing a propagandistic campaign that is to convince the people of its rightness and of a duty to take on care on the illegal immigrants.

Contempt for the people´s will have become one of the typical features of the Czech democracy after the fall of socialism that contributes significantly to its discrediting. Along with deepening of a chasm between the establishment and the people, a protectorate character of our state has been coming through increasingly. This fact cannot be altered by state representative’s sober opinions, mainly those of the former president Václav Klaus and of the current one Miloš Zeman. Without regard to a concrete coalition arrangement, a ruling coalition always obeys Brussels with having no courage to defy it. Unfortunately, it applies to an overwhelming majority of former and current parliamentary parties.

This is a reason why the people have been looking for ways how to make politicians to lend an ear to them. There are many petition actions on different topics including those demanding a referendum not only on immigration, but also on leaving the European Union. Demand for adopting a law enabling a national referendum is substantial and the government has been preparing a new law indeed. However, its draft supposes that voting on such issues as immigration or leaving the EU would not be possible at all. This is another example of ridicule and contempt for the people. It is obvious that the protectorate establishment will not allow implementation of steps that would be oriented against interests of Brussels or Washington. Therefore it seems that solution of essential problems is not possible within “standard” liberal democracy mechanisms under current conditions and so it is necessary to find new ways in the near future whose aims would be to weaken establishment power and to regain lost sovereignty and national dignity that is being trampled by democratic politicians every day.

The current state is unsustainable in the long term because it leads to a massive discontentment, frustration and apathy at the same time as the people have been ceasing believing that it is possible to achieve changes. All this is connected naturally with deep mistrust of politics as such, which appears to be an opening space for populists and various business projects who strongly oppose standard political parties and promise radical changes. If such projects succeeded in the elections, they would not change the humiliating position or the inner decay of the Czech Republic. On the contrary, they would use the gained power to their own economic profit, thus connecting business with politics. Such a process is known as “oligarchization”. Current vice-premier Andrej Babiš represents an exemplary illustration of this phenomenon.

When people understand that these projects will bring no change and that they have been deceived again, their frustration and apathy will deepen - which could have fatal consequences not only for our political life as protectorate position of the Czech Republic and her dependency on both denationalized and hostile Brussels elites and the United States, who are interested in maintaining its influence in Central Europe and Europe, but on general consolidation. A principle task for the Europeans is to break their dependency on the USA, to remove existing EU structures, setting up a new European order based on completely different values and principles. After all, the current migration crisis is to a large extent a consequence of destructive American policy and its main pawn – the EU. However, all European nations rightly feel that stop the influx of migrants is necessary for survival of Europe.

Minorities on the Czech territory

Situation in the Czech Republic is specific in this respect. The Czechs constitutes a very homogeneous society and have no strong experience with alien minorities as many Western countries have. Yet – or maybe just because of that – the Czech society has vigorously opposed the influx of migrants. In the past German minority lived on the Czech territory, that in the inter-war period numbered more than 3 million people, i.e. nearly a quarter of all population, and even those were expelled after the Second World War. Further, a strong Jewish minority lived among the Czechs (comprising ca. 180 thousands of people according to official statistics from 1921, nevertheless, it was larger in fact), which was reduced significantly thanks to the Third Reich policy. In the present time, the gipsy minority is the most noticeable one; yet it is not active politically and organized being an object of ridicule from the Czech society, and also the Vietnamese, which have been able to adapt by focusing predominantly on economic activities. Other minorities are marginal arousing no significant attention. The “closed” character of the Czech society is a consequence of geographical conditions as well, has been dwindling due to globalization, liberalization and other negative processes.

According to official statistics from 2013, nearly 450 thousand foreigners live in the Czech Republic comprising more than 4 percent of all population; the foreigners are concentrated mainly in the capital of Prague where they make up to 13 percent of the population. It is not possible to overlook the fact that Prague has been losing its Czech character significantly becoming a typical multicultural Western-style city. I would like to emphasize that I described the situation before the migration crisis. The migration wave is a fatal menace for preservation of Czech identity. Its preservation and developing is incompatible with influx of migrants. Despite this fact, the Czech government is not reluctant to accept them. They have been boasting about that they achieved refusal of obligatory quotas which would have obliged the EU member states to accept a determined number of migrants on the basis of Brussels decision, at the same time the government decided that the Czech Republic would accept illegal immigrants and in the upshot it can mean that we will accept more people than a number according to the quotas been. As the government have stressed their merits in defending national interests, they have acted very hypocritically and misleadingly.

Anti-Islamic radicalism and defense of liberalism

On the other hand, many political parties and organizations endeavor to defend national interests. One of them succeeded in the last elections to the Chamber of Deputies in 2013 gaining 6.88 percent of votes. The party was called “Dawn of Direct Democracy” lead by popular businessman Tomio Okamura. However, his hopeful project failed when a majority of his own deputies revolted against him expelling him and in August 2015 transformed the party. Now it is called “Dawn – National Coalition”; its destiny is very doubtful because they lost their main benefit when expelling Tomio Okamura. The party achieved success in the 2013 elections only thanks to his popular face; in the present day the new “Dawn” has no popular figure. Their position could be bolstered in case of cooperation with another organization, founded in June this year, called “Bloc against Islam” lead by Martin Konvička, natural scientist and civic activist who is known by his intransigent refusing of Islam, by comparing it to Nazism and by unscrupulous and vulgar assaults on his opponents. Konvička is a populist who focuses only on one issue. It is interesting that attacking Islam he has been presenting himself a defender of Christianity recently that is in significant contradiction to his pretentious support of LGBT “rights”, relativisation of Christian morality, support of mixing races and cultures etc. “Bloc against Islam” pretends to transform itself into a political party in order to fight the election. They have started quite a successful petition action whose aim is to call a national referendum on accepting refugees.
A substantial problem of this new organization is its conciliatory attitude towards the EU, ostentatious and repetitive support of Israel policy and current liberal-democratic regime. Such a coalition has also been made impossible due to frequent assaults on these potential partners represented by National Democracy in the first place. “Bloc against Islam” would gain a significant benefit if cooperating with Tomio Okamura; however, such cooperation is utterly improbable because of their good relations with the new “Dawn” representatives of who have already expressed readiness for mutual cooperation. I consider their radical attitude towards Islam manifesting itself in humiliating and insulting it and their fanaticism in relation to Islamic world to be a serious problem. Ideal Bloc´s goal is total extermination of this religion, which is, moreover, reduced to a criminal political ideology identical to Evil.

French National Front´s strange policy

Former deputy Jiří Janeček´s Civic Conservative Party (CCP) also takes a stand against immigration. However, his party is marginal, unknown publicly, not operational and not very credible how ambiguous attitude towards National Democracy (ND) illustrates. Janeček made a partnership agreement with National Democracy in June 2015 that, nevertheless, was contested permanently, it was canceled due to obviously untrue reasons soon, subsequently renewed and in August finally ended from the ND´s side after another wave of assaults that called National Democrats extremists, anti-Semites and racists. After the agreement annulment a noteworthy statement of one of the CCP representatives followed – allegedly no agreement ever existed.

CCP as such would not be worth noting unless it made a partnership agreement with French National Front. Negotiations with NF were held both by CCP and ND simultaneously. The NF final decision is very surprising not only due to above-mentioned facts but also because CCP is not against the EU and NATO consistently, although they support conservative values. Thanks to their new French partners CCP became one of the founding members of the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF) and the connection with Marine Le Pen is being stressed constantly, thus endeavoring to hide no activities in the Czech Republic. Therefore CCP is interesting for their potential partners just for the connection with NF and MENF.

After Jean-Marie Le Pen leaving from the top in 2011, the National Front has been shifting towards political mainstream so the old principles have been in danger how a quarrel between Jean-Marie and current leader Marine and tension within the party demonstrates. Concern about NF not to betray conservative and national values for election success seems to be justified. Instead of being a support for the forces that fight for conservative values, against the EU, NATO and American influence on the continent throughout Europe, NF has been becoming more and more conformist and liberal standing side by side with liberals, socialists and mainstream media in their fight against genuinely conservative and nationalist parties. It can bring harmful consequences. A position of Hungarian Jobbik is in contrast to that of the NF; Jobbik remains a consistent national conservative force despite its election successes. It is probable that the NF will clash with Jobbik for the leading role among “eurosceptical” forces in Europe. Considering above-mentioned facts it is as clear as day which party should enjoy our liking.

New outset on the Czech “national stage”

A party which very strongly opposes immigration, the EU and NATO, is nationalist Workers´ Party of Social Justice (WPSJ). Theoretically, it could be a leading force of Czech “eurosceptics” with significant anti-system ethos and in the past it was indeed. Despite growing disillusion and discontentment intensified by the global economic crisis, the WPSJ has been fading paradoxically not being able to mobilize people as was before and since 2008, when was in its heyday, it has been losing voters, members and readiness for action. The WPSJ has a change to succeed practically only in areas with large and problematic gypsy minority as the party became famous just for fighting against them. A majority of the Czech society perceives the party as neo-Nazi, skinhead, racist and extremist with only lower classes would vote for it, which limits very much its real chances. In spite of a positive role from the past it has became apparent that its “mission” is over. Nowadays the WPSJ manages to influence only its own members and long-term sympathizers and its coalition potential is zero, especially after cooperation with informal organization “National Congress” founded by National Democracy was terminated. All the more so they have been stressing external ties, thus behaving as the CPP. The WPSJ has traditionally close relations with the National Democratic Party of Germany and Slovak People´s Party Our Slovakia lead by Marian Kotleba. In June 2015 the WPSJ was received into the European nationalist party “Alliance for Peace and Freedom” that is possible to describe as success given the real party´s position.

A comparison of WPSJ and National Democracy activities in connection with migration crisis is reflective of the real situation. Protests against immigration have been organized by “Bloc against Islam”, WPSJ, ND and other apolitical subjects. Despite a fierce medial blockade against the ND from the very beginning of its existence, protests organized by National Democrats were the most successful definitely. The highest number of people took part in them, many other organizations including a new Tomio Okamura´s party, which is close to the ND, supported them and they also provoked the greatest response not only in the mass media but among politicians as well. A media attacks broke out being accompanied by politicians including the PM or the interior minister who declared that such actions are unacceptable, that the laws would be changed if necessary and they threatened the ND organisers with ten-years´ jail sentence.

These summer protests were a turn as the ND became an object of general awareness thanks to them and mass media started to consider it a relevant political force, even though they endeavor to discredit it by permanent attacks. Journalists and publicists label it as extremist, xenophobic or anti-Semitic that in times of mediocracy represents a serious danger. Therefore it would be crucial for National Democrats to be able to stand publicly. The ND exerts pressure on the government not only by demonstrations and harsh criticism but also by appeals for founding militias, which would defend the Czech people against illegal immigrants. Such appeals excite people´s lively interest so allied militia squads have been already creating (apart from these militia squads an organization called “Czechoslovak Reserve Soldiers against the War Planned by NATO” has been established recently being prepared for defending Czech borders).

Before bursting out of the migration crisis the National Democracy engaged by repeated protests in front of the US embassy in Prague where they protested against American imperialist policy and Washington interference in internal affairs of our country, by protest against American military convoy that went through Czech territory in March this year, by supporting demonstrations against media propaganda and on support of Russia just as by blockade of the deviants´ Prague Pride parade. The ND was the first Czech party in general which refused decidedly to support the Kiev putsch arranged by the USA, which expressed its support to Russia speaking openly about background of the Ukrainian crisis. Even for these reasons I accepted invitation for observation mission in Donetsk People´s Republic in November 2014. National Democrats have fully appreciated Russian role in the international politics and her significance for reorganization of order in Europe. Europe without Russia does not mean anything else than submitting to Washington. European renewal without a firm bond with conservative Russia is not feasible.

Who brings the hope?

During last two years several subjects criticizing the EU, declaring a need of defending national interests, warning about the islamisation threat and taking a stand against immigration were established. The question is which of them embody authentic patriotic forces, which of them are a project responding pragmatically to growing demand for radical and new solutions and, finally, which of them were founded with the aim of weakening of national forces. At the beginning of 2014 when the National Democracy was established no one expected how the Russia-West relations would escalate and that we would have to face such a menace as a migration wave is. The Czech society was indifferent and apathetic and no demand for a radical national conservative party basically existed. Despite that a party emerged being able to engage, it has been developing and now it seems that National Democracy represents the main threat for the ruling establishment from all parties. The thing is that National Democrats have decided to tell the truth and act. And the people have started to understand that. Therefore the fear in the ruling politicians´ eyes, therefore the repetitive police interrogations, therefore the media attacks which had to be started after keeping silence and pretending that there is no National Democracy had become unsustainable.

On my opinion radical change can be brought only by a party whose aim would be leaving the EU and NATO, rehabilitation of traditional Christian values, a Europe of free nations and the closest possible cooperation with Russia, a party merging radicalism with conservatism, decided attitudes with restraint, nationalism with Europeanism. On the Czech political stage such a combination is offered objectively just by the National Democracy.