Workers' Party (Czech Republic)
Encyclopedia
Worker's Party was a Czech
political party, often described as the major far-right
extremist
party in the Czech Republic
. The party in not represented in any legislative body in the Czech Republic and its biggest electoral success so far has been a gain of 1,07% in the European Elections in 2009
. Some of the high-ranking party officials, including a Prague
party leader, have been associated with neo-nazi groups such as Národní odpor, Czech subsidiary of international militant neo-nazi group
. In spring 2009 the petition for the ban of the party was dismissed by the Czech Supreme Administrative Court , because, as the presiding judge stated, the applicant (Czech government) didn't manage to provide sufficient evidence in what was seen as a botched application . Following violent attacks against Czech minorities by far-right extremists (such as Vítkov arson attack of 2009
), and the government has filled a more detailed petition for the ban, which was discussed by Czech Supreme Court in January and February 2010. The party was banned, making it the first instance of banning a party for its ideology in the modern history of the Czech Republic.
and as late as in early autumn 2008 the Workers' party program was considerably socialist
, when the party's most important program point in the regional elections was an abolition of medical fees paid by Czech patients. The party received less than 1% of votes, but shortly afterwards attracted major media attention for organizing riots in quarters of Litvínov
city with a significant Roma population . Afterwards, the party has managed to maintain considerable publicity by organizing a marche against homosexuals in Tabor.
The party has then started to emphasize a nationalist dimension of its program, mostly effort to overhaul what they see as a favorable treatment of minorities, and in fact has started a radically anti-communist rhetoric, e.g. on the 20th anniversary of the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia
the party leader Tomáš Vandas has said: "So what is the state of the society nowadays? In one word: tragic. Communists still govern us.".
The party claims that it is the only "real opposition" in the Czech Republic, since it is the only party opposing the Czech political system
(which has been repeatedly rated as the most democratic of former communist countries
and is currently the 19th most democratic system in the world by The Economist
Democracy index
). The party has repeatedly called for the overthrow and subversion of Czech political system, which the party describes both as "liberal" and "totalitarian" The official slogan for 2009 European Elections was "Resist the totalitarian regime".
Concerning economic aspects of the party's program, it includes vague and contradictory populist demands such as reducing national debt while increasing old age pensions and reducing the retirement age . Some of the more concrete proposals include restrictions on foreign investment, including a total ban on purchases of real estate by foreign nationals and nationalization of certain companies.
The party also wants to restore the death penalty, criminalize "sexual deviation", including homosexuality , abolish registered partnership, reduce rights of the prosecuted and in some cases create new crimes with a retroactive effect
. Some of the most controversial proposals include marking of ethnicity in ID cards and giving the police discretion to treat the arrested person inhumanly .
In international affairs, the party opposes NATO and European Union
and requires the Czech Republic leave these organizations . The party is strongly anti-American and seems to be pro-Russian , going as far as stating that the Czech Republic must "immediately and strongly restore its relations with Russia" Concerning other matters in international affairs, it is hard to determine the party position, since the party has not taken a stance and its releases in the party internet journal are very contradictory: e.g. the chairman of the party arbitration commission congratulated the radical president of the Islamic Republic of Iran after the controversial elections
, but wrote a highly islamophobic
article 6 weeks afterwards .
. However, there is a clear evidence of affiliation with, or inspiration by, nazism, besided the above-mentioned affiliation of some of its leaders with neo-nazi organizations.
Some of the reasons include:
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
political party, often described as the major far-right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
extremist
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
party in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. The party in not represented in any legislative body in the Czech Republic and its biggest electoral success so far has been a gain of 1,07% in the European Elections in 2009
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
. Some of the high-ranking party officials, including a Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
party leader, have been associated with neo-nazi groups such as Národní odpor, Czech subsidiary of international militant neo-nazi group
Combat 18
Combat 18 is a violent neo-Nazi organisation associated with Blood and Honour. It originated in the United Kingdom, but has since spread to other countries. Members of Combat 18 have been suspected in numerous deaths of immigrants, non-whites, and other C18 members...
. In spring 2009 the petition for the ban of the party was dismissed by the Czech Supreme Administrative Court , because, as the presiding judge stated, the applicant (Czech government) didn't manage to provide sufficient evidence in what was seen as a botched application . Following violent attacks against Czech minorities by far-right extremists (such as Vítkov arson attack of 2009
Vítkov arson attack of 2009
The Vítkov arson attack of 2009 occurred during the night of 18 / 19 April 2009. Three Molotov cocktails were thrown through the windows of a house inhabited by a Roma family. Three people were injured...
), and the government has filled a more detailed petition for the ban, which was discussed by Czech Supreme Court in January and February 2010. The party was banned, making it the first instance of banning a party for its ideology in the modern history of the Czech Republic.
Ideology and program
The program of the Workers' Party is not easily classifiable. On January 19, 2003, a day after the party was established, it published a press release that it planned to compete mostly with the Czech communist partyCommunist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia , abbreviated to KSČM, is a political party in the Czech Republic. It has a membership of 82,994 and is a member party of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left bloc in the European Parliament...
and as late as in early autumn 2008 the Workers' party program was considerably socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, when the party's most important program point in the regional elections was an abolition of medical fees paid by Czech patients. The party received less than 1% of votes, but shortly afterwards attracted major media attention for organizing riots in quarters of Litvínov
Litvínov
Litvínov is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. The largest oil refinery in the Czech Republic is located there. Models Eva Herzigová and Iva Frühlingová come from Litvínov. The HC Litvínov ice hockey club is based in the town....
city with a significant Roma population . Afterwards, the party has managed to maintain considerable publicity by organizing a marche against homosexuals in Tabor.
The party has then started to emphasize a nationalist dimension of its program, mostly effort to overhaul what they see as a favorable treatment of minorities, and in fact has started a radically anti-communist rhetoric, e.g. on the 20th anniversary of the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
the party leader Tomáš Vandas has said: "So what is the state of the society nowadays? In one word: tragic. Communists still govern us.".
The party claims that it is the only "real opposition" in the Czech Republic, since it is the only party opposing the Czech political system
Politics of the Czech Republic
Politically, the Czech Republic is a multi-party parliamentary representative democratic republic. According to the Constitution of the Czech Republic, the President is the head of state while the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising supreme executive power...
(which has been repeatedly rated as the most democratic of former communist countries
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
and is currently the 19th most democratic system in the world by The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
Democracy index
Democracy Index
The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit that claims to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 165 are UN member states...
). The party has repeatedly called for the overthrow and subversion of Czech political system, which the party describes both as "liberal" and "totalitarian" The official slogan for 2009 European Elections was "Resist the totalitarian regime".
Concerning economic aspects of the party's program, it includes vague and contradictory populist demands such as reducing national debt while increasing old age pensions and reducing the retirement age . Some of the more concrete proposals include restrictions on foreign investment, including a total ban on purchases of real estate by foreign nationals and nationalization of certain companies.
The party also wants to restore the death penalty, criminalize "sexual deviation", including homosexuality , abolish registered partnership, reduce rights of the prosecuted and in some cases create new crimes with a retroactive effect
Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali
Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali is a basic maxim in continental European legal thinking...
. Some of the most controversial proposals include marking of ethnicity in ID cards and giving the police discretion to treat the arrested person inhumanly .
In international affairs, the party opposes NATO and European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and requires the Czech Republic leave these organizations . The party is strongly anti-American and seems to be pro-Russian , going as far as stating that the Czech Republic must "immediately and strongly restore its relations with Russia" Concerning other matters in international affairs, it is hard to determine the party position, since the party has not taken a stance and its releases in the party internet journal are very contradictory: e.g. the chairman of the party arbitration commission congratulated the radical president of the Islamic Republic of Iran after the controversial elections
Iranian presidential election, 2009
Iran's tenth presidential election was held on 12 June 2009, with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. The next morning the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's official news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes counted, Ahmadinejad had won the election...
, but wrote a highly islamophobic
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
article 6 weeks afterwards .
Accusations of neo-nazism
The party has never denied its ideology is national socialism, but has occasionally claimed that it is inspired by Czechoslovak inter-war parties, which were democratic, respected human rights and opposed nazism, but were called national socialists. Instead, it claims that it is not inspired by Hitler's variant of national socialismNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. However, there is a clear evidence of affiliation with, or inspiration by, nazism, besided the above-mentioned affiliation of some of its leaders with neo-nazi organizations.
Some of the reasons include:
- The party has established units for the protection of party officials, called Ochranné sbory.
- The party has established a youth organization, called Dělnická mládež (Workers' youth). The organization is very similar to Hitler youthHitler YouthThe Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
. - The party uses symbols used by NSDAP and German Labour FrontGerman Labour FrontThe German Labour Front was the National Socialist trade union organisation which replaced the various trade unions of the Weimar Republic after Adolf Hitler's rise to power....
. The youtube video for the "Party anthem" features scores of pictures unrelated to Czech culture, but instead showing Nordic mythology, which in certain ways inspired nazi leaders such as HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
(see Nazism and occultism). Political scientists who did a research about the party's ideology noted that "The party materials and works of its supporters feature, both implicitly and explicitally, religious symbols, that are strongly related to Germanic neopaganismGermanic neopaganismGermanic neopaganism is the contemporary revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s...
, which is a characteristical feature of (neo)nazism" . - Similarities in the programs of the Workers' party and NSDAP include:
- 1) Contempt for democratic government, human rights and minorities rights,
- 2) Strong anti-communism, and at the same time collectivism and a critique of economicEconomic liberalismEconomic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
and political liberalismLiberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, - 3) Anti-feminism, racism (including anti-semitism).
European Parliament
| Year | # of total votes | Vote % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 European Parliament election, 2004 (Czech Republic) The European Parliament election of 2004 in the Czech Republic was the election of MEP representing Czech Republic constituency for the 2004–2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election.... |
4,289 | 0.18 | 0 |
| 2009 European Parliament election, 2009 (Czech Republic) The European Parliament election of 2009 in Czech Republic was the election of the delegation from Czech Republic to the European Parliament in 2009.... |
25,368 | 1.07 | 0 |