Czech extremism expert: Presidential elections stirred up hate, Romani influencers ended up in the same "anti-system" boat as the ultra-right
Miroslav Mareš, an expert in extremism at Masaryk University in Brno, says the recent presidential campaign stirred up extremist sentiment and led some citizens to commit hate speech. The voting patterns, according to him, show there are voters who respond to extremist appeals.
Such voters supported either Andrej Babiš or Jaroslav Bašta and unleashed campaigns that approximated the extremist scene on social media. Among them, according to Mareš, were the Romani influencers who broadcast live on social media, who paradoxically ended up in the same boat as right-wing extremists.
Mareš, speaking in an interview for news server Novinky.cz, also said faith has been shaken in extremist leaders such as Tomio Okamura and that the ultra-right scene is incapable of appealing to the public with a clear leader. “Some extremists had previously stuck with Tomio Okamura, but then he didn’t support Babiš. There are also big disputes on the side of those who used to profile themselves as anti-vaxxers, who have joined the side of those opposed to Ukraine. The extremist scene does not have a clear leader at this moment around whom such voters could coalesce. This atmosphere sparked a wave of hate in society, but these people don’t have anybody to clearly follow,” he said.
On the other hand, Mareš said he can’t imagine a new political entity appearing to exploit this situation. He also said the extremist scene has been weakened by several losses, such as when most of them went over to Babiš, which was a tactical mistake.
“The anti-vaxxer scene has lost credibility, because Babiš was the enemy during the coronavirus crisis when he supported measures against spreading the virus and supported vaccination,” Mareš said. During the presidential elections other phenomena appeared, such as Romani influencers echoing the opinions of right-wing extremists.
THE INFLUENCER PHENOMENON
This significant phenomenon involves Romani people broadcasting live through Facebook and is popular among more impoverished Romani people in particular. In their frequent broadcasts, these Romani influencers express their opinions on current events concerning Romani people.
“The paradox is that the Romani influencers, who express themselves, in my opinion, so vigorously as to border on extremism, joined the supporters of traditional Czech right-wing extremism. At this moment, these former enemies have ended up in the same anti-system boat,” explained Mareš.
According to the expert, dissatisfaction and hate is being stirred up toward those who represent the more satisfied, successful segment of society. “This could be determined by economic conditions, but it’s also frequently due to the mindset of those who are living on the periphery and the feeling that their lives are unfulfilled,” he said.
