Final Word from Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Nothing is expected to come of the vote of the Pirates to call on their lawmakers and ministers to push for the removal of Justice Min. Pavel Blažek of ODS. Some political analysts argue that this has put Ivan Bartoš's party in a trap of its own making, but that tends to be the view of observers who aren't big fans of the Pirates anyway. From the Pirates' perspective, the situation is developing quite well. Foreign Min. Jan Lipavský stated pointedly at the end of Aug. that it would be a "tragic mistake" and "completely destructive in terms of the promotion of liberal policy" for the Pirates to leave the Fiala government. His message was that the Pirates are making a big difference. It's true that Blažek is already pushing a progressive agenda in some ways, and pressure from the Pirates will make him even more malleable. The Pirates will likely be able to take credit in the next election campaign for turning the formerly conservative ODS into a reluctant but reliable supporter of progressivism. [ Czech Republic liberalism progressivism ]