Czech Elections

As an American who has spent the past two months in Prague, I can tell that the upcoming legislative elections in the Czech Republic are of great importance to many Czech citizens. From my point of view it seems as though there is a general feeling of resentment and disapproval with the government. The youth in particular seem to be angry about the current situation, and are nervous that the communist party may win some seats in parliament in the upcoming election. People seem to be pretty open about criticizing the Czech government, as is evidenced by artists David Cerny’s latest work. Mr. Cerny placed a large purple hand giving the middle finger on a barge in the middle of the Vltava River. The statue is deliberately facing Prague Castle, where the government sits. The statues message is clear and seems to be a fairly common opinion of people. Based off of the conversations I have had with Czech citizens, I would assume that they are all in agreement with Mr. Cerny’s message. No one I have spoken with has had anything good to say about the current state of affairs in the government. More specifically everyone seems to be angered and displeased with the current president, Milos Seman. Everyone says that he is a drunk and an embarrassment.