Biggest Czech protest since 1989 Velvet Revolution demands billionaire PM’s resignation
- About 120,000 in Prague call on Prime Minister Andrej Babis to quit over alleged conflicts of interest with his former business empire
- Babis, a populist billionaire, denies wrongdoing
The Czech Republic witnessed its biggest political protest since the fall of communism after an estimated 120,000 people gathered in Prague to demand the resignation of the prime minister, Andrej Babis.
Waving Czech and EU flags, demonstrators filled Wenceslas Square, the scene of euphoric rallies 30 years that ushered in the velvet revolution and ended communist rule in the former Czechoslovakia.
Television footage showed crowds stretching the entire length of the square, a distance of nearly half a mile, bringing the city centre to a halt and fulfilling organisers’ hopes of an impressive show of opposition strength.
Holding banners saying “Resign”, protesters – including some who had travelled from distant locations – voiced anger over Babis’ continuation in office despite mounting scandals over the misuse of EU funds.
The mixed social make-up suggested that anger had reached beyond liberal, relatively cosmopolitan areas around Prague, where opposition to the prime minister has always been strong.
“He’s like a mafia boss and he’s the worst politician in the Czech Republic – he reminds us of communism,” said Dagmar Kmochova, a small shop owner who had come from Kutna Hora, 80km east of Prague.