Around 200,000-250,000 Czechs rallied at the Letná plateau in Prague on March 21 against the policies of the ruling radical populist cabinet led by billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babiš' Ano party, which they fear threaten democratic standards in the country. 

Speakers addressing the crowd, including Mikuláš Minář of the Million Moments for Democracy platform, which is behind the protest, slammed the new government-backed NGO draft bill, criticised as inspired by a similar Russian bill targeting civic society and opponents of President Vladimir Putin’s rule, as well as the plans to scrap funding of public media through concession fees.

“The [NGO] law has relatives in Moscow, Budapest and Bratislava,” historian Hana Kubátová told the crowd, warning that such measures can have damaging effects already before being turned into law, discouraging academics from international research.

As bne IntelliNews covered earlier this month, the bill drafted by the ruling coalition of Ano, far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and anti-green and eurosceptic Motorists for Themselves parties, contains provision to penalise foreign-funded activities, which could extend to international research grants, or even EU subsidies, which are an important component of the country’s economy.

Babiš described the protest as “activism”, saying that it is people’s right to protest, but that “they are not right” in what they criticise, Czech Television (CT) reported. 

Popular actor Ivan Trojan criticised the ruling coalition for rejecting the authorities' request to strip Babiš and SPD leader Tomio Okamura of parliamentary immunity.

Okamura, who was elected as the chairman of the parliament in November, faces criminal investigation over SPD's racist anti-immigration campaign. Babiš is due to stand trial after the Czech Supreme Court in Prague in June cancelled his acquittal over the alleged €2mn Stork's Nest subsidy fraud.

The three ruling parties wield a comfortable majority of 108 in the parliament of 200, and critics see the protection of Babiš and Okamura against investigations as one of the main reasons why Babiš quickly joined forces with radical and extremist parties following his victory in the October general election.

Trojan said that “ministries of foreign affairs and defence held by extremists and populists” – Motorists’ leader Petr Macinka and SPD nominee Jaromír Zůna respectively – “is too high a price for Babiš’s immunity”. 

Protests against the Ano-led cabinet gained in strength in recent weeks after the Motorists stepped up their anti-green rhetoric and carried out a series of controversial staff changes at the ministries under their watch, including firing the head of the country’s National Gallery Alicja Knastová last week. After the Ano-led Ministry of Regional Development dismantled the national Agency for social inclusion, the agency’s labour union declared a strike emergency.

As bne IntelliNews reported earlier this year, Babiš and Okamura also agreed to scrap the funding of public media through concession fees, renewing fears it may try to suffocate the independence of public media.

It was one of the largest rallies in the country’s history and the largest one since 2019 when a series of mass rallies against Babiš' previous cabinet organised by Million Moments for Democracy inspired the unification of opposition parties which then narrowly ousted Babiš from power in 2021.

Ano, however, remains by far the most popular party in the country, with 34.2% support according to the latest Stem poll for CNN Prima News, followed by opposition parties centrist Mayors and Independents (13.3%), neoliberal ODS (12.2%), and liberal Pirate Party (8.1%). SPD polled 7.1%, while the Motorists dipped below the parliamentary threshold with 4.8%. 

CT reported that up to 400 volunteers, rescue personnel, police and firefighters secured the March 21 mass rally, which took place peacefully.