Domestic Politics Threatened by Coronavirus


All media of the nation now threaten humanity and, if a truly effective cure is not found, may rival, if not surpass, the dreaded Spanish flu that killed tens of millions of people just after the end of World War I. Maximum attention is being paid to the pandemic. Political life appears to have come to a halt, or rather, daily information and commentary on political wrangling, scandals, and other events have largely disappeared from the media. [For Prime Minister Andrei Babiš, who is fully fulfilling his duties as prime minister in the fight against the coronavirus, on the other hand, it is a time of respite in his fight against the opposition and, perhaps even more so, his own problems. Even before the pages of the newspapers began to fill up with the infected, with the exception of those in which the Czech prime minister was the main protagonist, there was an abundance of his colorful scandals, ranging from various insults against politicians at home and abroad to unpleasant facts about the deepening allegations of conflicts of interest by the prime minister and the reasons for his ongoing criminal prosecution. Even in times like these, it is important to remember that Andrej Babiš\’s current daily efforts to fight the pandemic are not the image of a selfless politician who invests all his energy and skills to save the nation, but the prime minister\’s first duty and responsibility. In other words, if someone else were sitting in the Straka Academy, his actions would also have to be subordinate to the situation.
The opposition supports the government\’s orders and resolutions to combat the epidemic in this critical situation. Frankly, what else is there to do? However, partial measures have been criticized, such as the change in the status of the crisis management staff and the composition of those responsible for it, as well as the lack of awareness among opposition leaders of the situation and the measures being prepared. The ousting of Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamacek from the leadership of the crisis management staff, because the stuttering prime minister was completely overshadowed by the Social Democratic Party leader, who dressed politely and made human and factual statements at one of the many press conferences devoted to the fight against the coronavirus, gave the impression that this was Babish\’s revenge The Prime Minister has created the persistent impression that this is “Babish\’s revenge. Ochranná rouškaThe prime minister believes that he has a chance to improve his reputation among a portion of the public that is not “timid” and that Hamacek will not spoil it. This assertion is supported by the fact that Babish publicly reprimanded Health Minister Wojciech for some of the information he had obtained. Logically, Adam Wojciech could also get media attention, potentially ruining his popularity and thus overshadowing the party boss. But Babiš\’s worries proved to be futile. The brusque and unsympathetic health minister appears highly volatile and, at the moment, is most frequently targeted, especially by the professional public. His decisions in the area of hospital supply have been, to put it euphemistically, unfortunate to say the least. [Let\’s hope we can deal with the coronavirus as soon as possible and return to a normal life. Let us also hope that we do not lose our memory. The current situation, while exceptional, is still black and white.