Czechia's incoming Prime Minister booed on Velvet Revolution anniversary

On Nov. 17, the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, Andrej Babiš, the chairman of the ANO movement and potential next Czech Prime Minister, was met with a chorus of boos and heckling as he visited the memorial on Národní Street in central Prague.

While Babiš spoke to reporters about the 1989 events as the “trigger” that brought freedom, free elections, and democracy to the Czech Republic, his opponents shouted “shame” and the acronym “StB” at the politician, underscoring the deep division over his controversial past. Isolated shouts of support, such as “Long live Babiš,” could also be heard from the crowd.

Babiš, accompanied by ANO deputy chairs, laid flowers at the memorial site. The politician, who was a member of the pre-1989 Communist Party, told the crowd gathered at the memorial on Monday that the new freedom was the “most important thing,” but faced immediate confrontation.

Protestors referenced the long-standing allegations that Babiš was registered as a collaborator with the former secret police, the StB, under the code name “Bureš.” Babiš responded by claiming he “was never an StB agent” and that he had “won all the trials,” accusing the civic group Million Moments of reactivating a “disinformation campaign” against him.

However, the public anger is fueled by more than just his communist-era history. Babiš faces ongoing scrutiny over his alleged conflict of interest tied to his Agrofert conglomerate and its continued receipt of millions in EU subsidies.

The related Čapí hnízdo subsidy fraud case has been repeatedly reopened by appellate courts, maintaining pressure on him. President Petr Pavel has publicly stated that Babiš must transparently resolve this conflict of interest before he can be appointed as Prime Minister.

The tension is amplified by Babiš's current move to negotiate a government with the far-right, anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party and the Motorists. SPD leader Tomio Okamura, newly elected as the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies drew criticism for not attending today's memorial at Národní třída.

STAN Chairman Vít Rakušan called his absence a disgrace. “I consider it a real shame that the [Speaker] will not come to Národní třída on Nov. 17, and something that is unprecedented.”

Instead of attending the country’s central commemoration, Okamura spent the morning at a piety ceremony at Hlávka College and was scheduled to take part in a memorial event for the 1939 victims of Nazi repression at the Ruzyně barracks.

"We are losing freedom again. What we fought for around 1989, what we advocated together. For democracy and freedom of speech," Okamura told reporters.

The arrival of Motorist party's leader Filip Turek to Národní třída ceremony drew the strongest reaction from the crowd, iDnes reported with one banner reading: "The Nazi won't steal our holiday."