On Saturday, approximately 70,000 people took part in protests in Prague, the Czech Republic’s capital (September 4). The people demanded that the ruling coalition government take action to bring soaring energy prices under control. Protesters also criticised the European Union (EU) and NATO. The demonstrators, who came from a variety of far-right and fringe political groups, including the Communist Party, said the country in central Europe should be neutral militarily and maintain direct contracts with gas suppliers such as Russia.
According to police estimates, the number of protesters reached 70,000 by the afternoon. ‘ The goal of our demonstration is to demand change, particularly in resolving the issue of energy prices, particularly electricity and gas, which will destroy our economy this autumn,’ event co-organizer Jiri Havel told the iDNES.cz news website.
The protest came just one day after the government survived a vote of no-confidence. The opposition accuses the government of doing nothing to combat inflation and rising energy prices. The vote demonstrated how Europe’s energy crisis is causing political instability as soaring power prices fuel inflation, which is already at three-decade highs.
Czech Prime Minister Petre Fiala expressed his displeasure with the protests, saying the demonstrators did not have the best interests of the country in mind. ‘The protest on Wenceslas Square was called by forces that are pro-Russian, close to extreme positions, and are against the interests of the Czech Republic,’ he said.
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