Prague, May 12 (CTK) – The Czech Communists (KSCM) paradoxically play the role of “useful idiots of liberal democracy” since their mere existence prevents more serious political risks, such as the rise of ultra-right extremists, Petr Honzejk writes in daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) yesterday.
He says the prophecy of former president Vaclav Klaus (2003-2013), who said two years ago the number of KSCM voters would be decreasing, did not come true.
The KSCM keeps a stable support and the position of the third strongest party in the Czech Republic, after ANO of Finance Minister and billionaire businessman Andrej Babis and the Social Democrats (CSSD), and it enjoys “an excellent form” before its weekend election congress, Honzejk writes.
Many Czechs still like “the red colour” (the symbol of Communists). On the one hand, this is an awesome finding, but on the other hand, it has some positive aspects from a purely pragmatic point of view since the Communists serve as an obstacle to other dangers, Honzejk points out.
An answer to the question of why the number of KSCM voters is not dropping can be found in the analyses of their stances. They have long preferred a combination of authoritarian rule and the maximum social protection, Honzejk says.
Though Babis offers to rule with a firm hand that “will simply arrange it” (as his ANO’s election slogan has promised), he is a capitalist after all and KSCM voters do not believe that he will arrange it for them, too. Consequently, they rely on “the red certainty,” Honzejk says.
“It may sound strange, but the KSCM is a high-quality trademark,” Honzejk writes.
He adds that the KSCM has a clear identity and a distinctly defined segment of customers, it sufficiently differs from its competitors, enjoys satisfactory financial and personnel sources and a long-term stable position on the market.
Its supporters can also be sure that the KSCM will cross the 5-percent parliamentary threshold, and consequently that their votes will not be lost, unlike some small groupings, such as the populist Dawn, which is unlikely to enter the lower house again, according to polls.
“The Communists offer something like a protest with a guarantee,” Honzejk writes.
However, the most interesting aspect is the following paradox: the “persistent survival” of the (extremist) Communist Party in a way rules out the Czech Republic setting out on the way towards dangerous authoritarian or even undemocratic extremes.
The isolated KSCM partly attracts many voters who would otherwise support small fascistoid, potentially violent entities, which therefore remain insignificant without a chance of entering parliament, and partly those who would support Babis’s ANO. This is why Babis will probably not fulfil his dream of gaining 40 percent of the vote to be able to govern alone without coalition partners, Honzejk points out.
“We are watching the biggest irony in history: the Communists, the useful idiots of liberal history,” Honzejk concludes.
