Political commentator Jiří Pehe: Duchcov coalition could seriously damage
the Social Democrats
The situation in Duchcov, north Bohemia, where the Social Democrats have
entered into a coalition with the ultra-right Workers Social Justice Party
and the Communists and its possible implications for the Social Democratic
Party have become a hotly debated topic both in political circles and the
media. Party leader Bohuslav Sobotka has expressed grave concern regarding
the latest developments which he described as “wholly unacceptable” and
has made it clear he would fight to have the local branch of the Social
Democratic Party scrapped. I asked political commentator Jiří Pehe how
important it is for the Social Democrat leader to win this particular
battle.
“Well, I think it is extremely important for Mr. Sobotka to win this
particular battle because a democratic party such as the Social Democrats
with a long tradition in the Czech Republic and a certain profile cannot
afford to be perceived by the public as a party that enters into a
coalition with right-wing extremists. I think the party already damaged
itself a bit when it created a number of coalitions with the Communist
Party after the regional elections two years ago and this would be another
step that I think could really damage the image of the party. So Mr.
Sobotka really needs to win this battle or at least to convince the public
that he has done his best to prevent this coalition.”
How do you interpret the regional leadership’s decision to come out in
support of this coalition and defy the prime minister?
“Well, I am afraid that the Social Democratic Party has many different
layers and especially in some regions, such as the northern Bohemian region
and some other socially problematic areas, the local and regional Social
Democrats quite often sympathize with the views of some of the extreme
right politicians with regard to minorities and especially the Roma
minority in those areas and they pander to the lowest possible denominator
to attract voters. And I think this is part of this strategy where the
local Social Democrat leaders do not want to be seen as not really
understanding the problems of the lower class local population which quite
often is in conflict with the local Roma population.”
Is Mr. Sobotka strong enough to win this battle? Does he have enough
support on the national level?
“I think that on the national level he has enough support, the question
is whether the leadership of the Social Democratic Party has sufficiently
strong tools to deal with the regional leadership. They can of course
abolish a local organization of the party but when they get into conflict
with one of the regional leaderships of the party then the issue is much
more complicated. So how this will be played out really depends on a large
extent on the statutes of the Social Democratic Party and the ability of
the leadership to use the internal democratic mechanisms and
decision-making mechanisms to deal with this effectively. “
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“Well, I think it is extremely important for Mr. Sobotka to win this
particular battle because a democratic party such as the Social Democrats
with a long tradition in the Czech Republic and a certain profile cannot
afford to be perceived by the public as a party that enters into a
coalition with right-wing extremists. I think the party already damaged
itself a bit when it created a number of coalitions with the Communist
Party after the regional elections two years ago and this would be another
step that I think could really damage the image of the party. So Mr.
Sobotka really needs to win this battle or at least to convince the public
that he has done his best to prevent this coalition.”
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