IDM Short Insights 38: An election poster or a crime?
A controversial election campaign in the Czech Republic risks further polarising society. The Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) is facing criminal allegations after using overtly racist and biased posters as part of its election campaign. In the latest IDM Short Insight, Research Assistant Kamila Bogdanova explains why the Prague police and the Czech Constitutional Court are investigating the case.
Transcript:
The Prague police have initiated criminal proceedings against the Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) for using a controversial poster ahead of the regional council elections. The suspected crime is the incitement of hatred towards a specific group of people. Due to the severity of the case, the Czech Constitutional Court will also investigate the election campaign.
The poster features a dark-skinned man with a bloody knife and a bloodied shirt, accompanied by the text, “Deficiencies in health care can’t be solved by importing ‘surgeons’. ‘Stop the EU Migration Pact!’.” These posters are overtly racist and biased, attempting to gain political support by instilling fear and driving a wedge between different groups of the population. After critical reactions, the leader of the opposition party SPD, Tomio Okamura, responded that he was merely reacting to the government’s actions, which, according to him, will lead to more migrants arriving in the Czech Republic. He also referred to the newly approved EU Migration Pact.
Furthermore, another poster depicts two Roma boys smoking a cigarette. The image was created by artificial intelligence. The accompanying text reads: “They say we should go to school, but our folks couldn’t care less…” and “Welfare just for families whose children attend school!” The Roma community strongly condemned the SPD’s election posters. They have decided to file a report of a crime against the party.
The Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) is known for its anti-immigration and anti-Islamist policies, advocating for direct rather than representative democracy, and is critical of the EU. Due to its ideology, which is dominated by nationalism and Euroscepticism, the party is often described as radical or extreme right-wing. In the 2024 European Parliament elections, the movement ran as a candidate in the SPD and Tricolor coalition, which entered the European Parliament with one mandate, having received 5.73% of the vote.
Additionally, the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic has stated that the SPD party uses disinformation and conspiracy theories as part of its policies, thereby inciting hatred and fear in society. This strategy effectively targets a part of the population that does not verify the information presented. The SPD’s unsuccessful result in the 2024 EU elections served as an impulse to launch this controversial electoral campaign. The regional council elections in September this year will reveal how effective this campaign has been.
