Czech Politics, 101
If you read the Wikipedia page for the Czech Republic, you'll learn that "it is a unitary parliamentary republic." Unless you made a point of studying political theory, that's probably not super helpful, so let's try to unpack it. If you're already bored, I fully give you permission to watch YouTube.
Let's start with that first bit: "unitary." "Unitary" here simply means that there is no federal system of states or provinces that have independent constitutional authority. All political power flows from Prague. There are local elections for mayor, councils, etc., but these elections are hyper-local, turning on questions such as how to renovate the town square. Prague's government, by virtue of its sheer size and importance, gets more to do than other localities, but generally, the power is at the national level.
"Parliamentary republic" means that the governmental power in the Czech Republic is invested almost entirely in its parliament. The Parliament has two houses--the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Senate, for bizarre reasons, is almost entirely powerless, with a few very discreet and specific powers. It will probably be abolished or seriously reformed at some point in the future, because nobody cares, and, looking at its list of enumerated powers, I can't blame them. The real power, as well as the Prime Minister, come from the Chamber of Deputies.
The old white dudes in the picture above are the current Czech Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš, and the President, Miloš Zeman. They are, respectively, the head of the Czech government and the head of the Czech state. This is a distinction that's often lost on Americans, where the President occupies both roles, but the division is actually quite common. In essence, it means that Mr. Babiš runs the government and represents the ruling parliamentary coalition, while Mr. Zeman gets to do a lot ceremonial things, though he does have to approve governing coalitions and sign off on legislation, so he's not merely a figurehead. The Czech President is also Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and is responsible for key appointments, so Mr. Zeman certainly has enough to fill his days. (Incidentally, Czechs invariably speak of their leaders--and prominent citizens generally--as Mr. or Mrs. whoever, even when they loathe them, a note of linguistic respect I actually kinda dig.)
To start with the Presidency, because it's simpler, there's direct election of the President by the Czech people every five years. At least, that's the procedure since 2012--before then, Presidents were appointed by the Senate. The election is non-partisan, with people getting on the ballot either by collecting signatures or being sponsored by members of Parliament. Mr. Zeman, the current President, first won election in 2012, and then won re-election in 2017, both times after run-offs. His run-off opponent in 2017 was an academic, just to give a sense of how far removed these elections are from American style party battles. Mr. Zeman is a previous Prime Minister, having been an outspoken critic of the communist regime before the Velvet Revolution. However, he left his former political party some time ago, formed his own, and he is now a very divisive figure, known for his occasionally embarrassing behavior while in office, as well as several power grabs and scandals. His election revealed an urban/rural split, with Zeman enthusiastically saying that he didn't care if they liked him in Prague, because the real Czech people loved him, though his last election was hardly overwhelming. He favors closer relations with Russia, hates gay people, disparages women, and was quick to congratulate Donald Trump on his election. He is, in my opinion, the total pits. Fortunately, the constitution limits Presidents to two consecutive terms, and the 74-year-old Mr. Zeman seems unlikely to leave office in 4 years, only to show up again in 9.
As with other parliamentary systems, the Prime Minister is the head of the governing coalition. Following a 2017 election, the Chamber of Deputies has members from nine (9!) political parties, with Mr. Babiš's center right-ish ANO party being, by far, the largest. However, Mr. Babiš's current governing coalition includes the EU-friendly leftist Czech Social Democratic Party and is supported by the Czech Communist Party (!), a fact which did not go over well with a lot of the populace, even though the Communists aren't a member of the coalition, but simply provided enough votes for Babiš to stay PM. If you're curious, read the run-down on the parties represented nationally here and try to make sense of them. The political spectrum in the Czech Republic is much wider than in either America or the UK, with the parties in parliament ranging from the communists on the far left to the far-right SPD, which allies itself with the other far-right nationalist parties in the EU. On the whole, the political center of gravity is to the left on economic issues (a strong welfare state, high taxes, etc.) and center-right on questions like immigration and closer EU integration. Indeed, it's entirely possible that the immigration issue alone led to the election of Mr. Babiš and the re-election of Mr. Zeman.
Mr. Babiš has only been PM for about 14 months, but he's on his second governing coalition. His first collapsed and his current one took several months to form in large part because of his own past and personality. One of the richest men in the nation, having created both food and media empires, Mr. Babiš has been dogged by, among other scandals, a long-running investigation into potential embezzlement/misuse of EU funds at a facility his company owned. There was a period where an indictment or arrest for this case seemed imminent, though it seems to have faded as of late. He's something of an EU-skeptic, and like his old ally Zeman, favors better ties with Russia, though he bristles when he's accused of being too close to Putin. He famously rejected the EU's request that the Czech Republic settle some share of the thousands of refugees who had fled to Europe, and has repeatedly made offensive remarks about non-European (and non-Christian) migrants to Europe. While he is personally popular overall, people who don't like him *really* don't like him, and his ANO party (which was, ironically, originally created by Babiš around a platform of anti-corruption and good governance) seems to be losing ground to the quite new Pirate Party (!), which has a similar message but less baggage.
Overall, Czech politics feel...unsettled. Perhaps it's unsurprising for a country that was a one-party state for much of the last century, but the landscape feels unformed, with new parties coming into being every election. ANO was created in 2011, quickly rose, but may already be falling. That said, Czechia, bureaucratically and economically, is relatively stable, though the generational changes around the corner--people born *after* Czech entry into the EU come of voting age in a few years, and both the President and PM are quite old--could chart a new course...maybe even one with Pirates.
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"Parliamentary republic" means that the governmental power in the Czech Republic is invested almost entirely in its parliament. The Parliament has two houses--the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Senate, for bizarre reasons, is almost entirely powerless, with a few very discreet and specific powers. It will probably be abolished or seriously reformed at some point in the future, because nobody cares, and, looking at its list of enumerated powers, I can't blame them. The real power, as well as the Prime Minister, come from the Chamber of Deputies.
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| Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (L) and President Miloš Zeman. |
The old white dudes in the picture above are the current Czech Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš, and the President, Miloš Zeman. They are, respectively, the head of the Czech government and the head of the Czech state. This is a distinction that's often lost on Americans, where the President occupies both roles, but the division is actually quite common. In essence, it means that Mr. Babiš runs the government and represents the ruling parliamentary coalition, while Mr. Zeman gets to do a lot ceremonial things, though he does have to approve governing coalitions and sign off on legislation, so he's not merely a figurehead. The Czech President is also Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and is responsible for key appointments, so Mr. Zeman certainly has enough to fill his days. (Incidentally, Czechs invariably speak of their leaders--and prominent citizens generally--as Mr. or Mrs. whoever, even when they loathe them, a note of linguistic respect I actually kinda dig.)
To start with the Presidency, because it's simpler, there's direct election of the President by the Czech people every five years. At least, that's the procedure since 2012--before then, Presidents were appointed by the Senate. The election is non-partisan, with people getting on the ballot either by collecting signatures or being sponsored by members of Parliament. Mr. Zeman, the current President, first won election in 2012, and then won re-election in 2017, both times after run-offs. His run-off opponent in 2017 was an academic, just to give a sense of how far removed these elections are from American style party battles. Mr. Zeman is a previous Prime Minister, having been an outspoken critic of the communist regime before the Velvet Revolution. However, he left his former political party some time ago, formed his own, and he is now a very divisive figure, known for his occasionally embarrassing behavior while in office, as well as several power grabs and scandals. His election revealed an urban/rural split, with Zeman enthusiastically saying that he didn't care if they liked him in Prague, because the real Czech people loved him, though his last election was hardly overwhelming. He favors closer relations with Russia, hates gay people, disparages women, and was quick to congratulate Donald Trump on his election. He is, in my opinion, the total pits. Fortunately, the constitution limits Presidents to two consecutive terms, and the 74-year-old Mr. Zeman seems unlikely to leave office in 4 years, only to show up again in 9.
As with other parliamentary systems, the Prime Minister is the head of the governing coalition. Following a 2017 election, the Chamber of Deputies has members from nine (9!) political parties, with Mr. Babiš's center right-ish ANO party being, by far, the largest. However, Mr. Babiš's current governing coalition includes the EU-friendly leftist Czech Social Democratic Party and is supported by the Czech Communist Party (!), a fact which did not go over well with a lot of the populace, even though the Communists aren't a member of the coalition, but simply provided enough votes for Babiš to stay PM. If you're curious, read the run-down on the parties represented nationally here and try to make sense of them. The political spectrum in the Czech Republic is much wider than in either America or the UK, with the parties in parliament ranging from the communists on the far left to the far-right SPD, which allies itself with the other far-right nationalist parties in the EU. On the whole, the political center of gravity is to the left on economic issues (a strong welfare state, high taxes, etc.) and center-right on questions like immigration and closer EU integration. Indeed, it's entirely possible that the immigration issue alone led to the election of Mr. Babiš and the re-election of Mr. Zeman.
Mr. Babiš has only been PM for about 14 months, but he's on his second governing coalition. His first collapsed and his current one took several months to form in large part because of his own past and personality. One of the richest men in the nation, having created both food and media empires, Mr. Babiš has been dogged by, among other scandals, a long-running investigation into potential embezzlement/misuse of EU funds at a facility his company owned. There was a period where an indictment or arrest for this case seemed imminent, though it seems to have faded as of late. He's something of an EU-skeptic, and like his old ally Zeman, favors better ties with Russia, though he bristles when he's accused of being too close to Putin. He famously rejected the EU's request that the Czech Republic settle some share of the thousands of refugees who had fled to Europe, and has repeatedly made offensive remarks about non-European (and non-Christian) migrants to Europe. While he is personally popular overall, people who don't like him *really* don't like him, and his ANO party (which was, ironically, originally created by Babiš around a platform of anti-corruption and good governance) seems to be losing ground to the quite new Pirate Party (!), which has a similar message but less baggage.
Overall, Czech politics feel...unsettled. Perhaps it's unsurprising for a country that was a one-party state for much of the last century, but the landscape feels unformed, with new parties coming into being every election. ANO was created in 2011, quickly rose, but may already be falling. That said, Czechia, bureaucratically and economically, is relatively stable, though the generational changes around the corner--people born *after* Czech entry into the EU come of voting age in a few years, and both the President and PM are quite old--could chart a new course...maybe even one with Pirates.
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