Chair of Czech right-wing extremist party exultant over appointment of new ombudsman

On 12 February members of the Czech lower house chose Stanislav Křeček to be the country’s next Public Defender of Rights (ombudsman) by secret ballot, and according to statements made ahead of the vote by lawmakers, those favoring him were probably the governing Association of Dissatisified Citizens (ANO) party, its coalition partner the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) and the “Freedom and Direct Democracy” (SPD) party. The opposition has reacted negatively to Křeček’s election, but extremist and populist political entities are assessing it positively.

Tomáš Vandas, chair of the right-wing extremist Workers’ Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS), used social media to express his approval. “Although I consider the institution of the ombudsman unnecessary, in this case I’m glad Mr Křeček was elected and I congratulate him,” he tweeted.

“I would like to believe that through his election, that office will return to its original purpose instead of being an activist nest for the support of migrants, parasites and unadaptables,” Vandas tweeted. The DSSS has been regularly mentioned in the Czech Interior Ministry’s reports on domestic extremism. 

The chair of the ČSSD, Jan Hamáček, currently heads that ministry. Křeček was apparently elected by votes from ČSSD MPs, and the party leadership called on its members to cast ballots in his favor.

The Interior Ministry categorizes the DSSS as a “traditionally right-wing extremist party”. It is the successor to the Workers’ Party (Dělnická strana – DS), which was dissolved by the Czech Supreme Administrative Court in 2010.