“Society should be divided by generation, and for me, the left is a little more stupidly connected to the Communist Party, because I lived under a communist regime and I tried not to be here. On the other hand, I feel very strongly. The promotion of leftist values is not here.” Aktuálně.cz commentator Martin Fendrich talks about the current state of the Czech political scene.
Spotlight Aktuálně.cz – Martin Fendrych | Video: Jakub Jusanek
Journalist and commentator Martin Fendrich notes that although there are left-wing or socially responsible parties in the current government, there are topics where the left is clearly missing from Czech politics. As an example, he gives the example of a British weekly magazine EconomistHe says up to 68,000 more people than usual died in Europe during the energy crisis.
“Simply put, they don’t have the money to keep warm. Here are people who don’t have energy, and big corporations who have made billions out of it. Nobody from today’s five-coalition government cares about that.” Martin Fendrich blames the current cabinet and the left.
He feels a major problem is that while the government has been shouting slogans like “Future for your children”, it has not emphasized topics like the fight against climate change. “There is a strong population developing here that is not indifferent, that is thinking and looking for a way, and they will be looking for who they can vote for. They are very close to the pirates, because the Greens unfortunately still have about two percent of support.”
According to Fendrich, the distinction between right and left is blurring nowadays. But social democracy, which can appeal to left-wing voters, has left the House of Representatives, and he sees the problem of “more or less left-wing” pirates sitting in a far-right government.
And the possible solution? “I hope that there will be an opportunity for a group of curious young people who think a little differently, not just thinking about how much they will pay for an apartment or what kind of rent they will get. Or the existing parties will change.”
You can watch the full interview in the intro video or listen to it on your favorite podcast app.
