Jarmila Balážová: Czech Green Party bravely runs Romani candidates despite social atmosphere

In recent days one of the most significant political events in the post-1989 era ever to concern Romani people and their participation in real decision-making (i.e., not just "advising" the authorities) about matters that influence hundreds of thousands of citizens of this country has taken place. A great deal has already being written here about Romani education, inclusion, integration, segregation, the "special" schools and the inability of Romani people to become more involved in designing the politics and strategies that influence their lives.   

Naturally this discussion has already shifted toward demonstrating that Romani people do not have to dedicate themselves to ethnic minority topics only, but that they can be involved, for example, in drafting legislation that influences the lives of visually impaired people. Up until now only a handful of Romani people have ever gotten that opportunity here.

Our participation has been like an indispensable grain of sand in the sea. The closest we ever came was when, thanks to an offer from Václav Havel and other people from Civic Forum, a total of 10 Romani Civic Initiative (ROI) members ran on the Civic Forum candidate list in 1990.

Two Romani people were then seated in the Federal Assembly, while the remaining eight were seated on the Czech National Council and Slovak National Council. The Romani MPs even created their own caucus at that time.  

However, ever since 1990, no other party has been as brave as Civic Forum was. None of its successor parties ever offered this "Romani" party slots on their candidate lists.

Here and there individual Romani candidates found the courage to run. We must go back to the start of the 1990s to find them, however.

From 1990 – 1992, in addition to the ROI MPs, there was one other Romani member of parliament, Ladislav Body. He was elected during the 1990 elections on behalf of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (the federal communist party), specifically for its organization in the Czech lands, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), to the Czech National Council.

Body defended his seat during the 1992 elections, running on behalf of the Left Bloc, which was comprised of the KSČM and smaller left-wing groups. He sat on the Petition Committee for Human Rights and Nationalities even after the creation of the independent Czech Republic in January 1993, when the Czech National Council was transformed into the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. 

In 1996, Body was the only Romani member of the Czech Parliament, seated on behalf of a party which younger Romani people in particular did not trust, as they preferred more centrist, free-market parties. Back then the Freedom Union (Unie Svobody) was also brave enough to offer Monika Horáková (today Mihaličková) the second-place slot on its candidate list in Prague.

That position, immediately following then-minister Vladimír Mlynář in a district where the Freedom Union enjoyed strong voter support, was a total ace in the hole. It was also the highest place on a candidate list ever to be offered to a Romani man or woman.

The offer was made at a time in the 1990s when the number of racially motivated attacks in the Czech Republic had reached its worst-ever heights. Horáková was elected to the lower house in the 1998 elections for Prague, becoming the youngest MP elected that year and the only Romani one.   

Horáková kept her seat until the 2002 elections. She was also member of the Petition Committee.

It is now 2013, and not one Romani man or woman espousing their minority background has been seated in the Parliament of the Czech Republic since then. The number of college-educated individuals from this minority has risen in the Czech Republic, people who are better equipped in terms of languages, who are oriented in the professions they studied in addition to Romani issues, who have studied, including abroad, who are civically engaged, and who have even cultivated political profiles for themselves.

All of this has been in vain so far. If any of those Romani candidates were ever offered a place on a party’s candidate list, it was always in an essentially unelectable slot and was the result of negotiations with individual candidates (either party members or independents).

These recent offers have never been the result of an agreement between two parties, even though some such attempts to reach such agreements have been made. Representatives of Romani initiatives negotiated behind the scenes with representatives of the Czech Social Democrats when Jiří Paroubek was their chair and even drew up a memorandum on collaboration, but nothing ever came of it. 

Of course, Romani candidate David Beňák has been involved with that party for quite some time now, and is making his third run for office at a better place on its candidate list this time around. In the upcoming elections he has achieved his highest-placed position to date, running for the Prague electoral district in ninth place. 

This is not an electable slot in the current situation (although enough preferential votes could get him a seat – we shall see). However, I want to discuss the significant breakthrough now, the one that is the most significant since 1990. 

A certain established political party has offered another political party, a so-called "Romani" one, slots on its candidate list. Yes, naturally, given the current popularity of the Green Party, and given the places at which the Romani candidates are listed, they will probably not be elected to sit in the Parliament of the Czech Republic.

What interests me about this, however, is something else, and that is the indubitable courage of the Greens, who are themselves fighting for every single vote and are completely, unequivocally aware, given the intelligence of their leadership, that Romani candidates will not score them any political points today. Sure, Green Party voters are for human rights, they are more liberal and more tolerant than those who vote for other parties, that we can assume at a minimum, but even so, to nominate two Romani Green Party members and to also conclude an agreement with the Equal Opportunities Party (Strana rovných příležitostí – SRP), a party which for the time being is a doubtful proposition without its own funding, or secretariat, or hundreds of volunteers willing to help during the campaign – this, in my opinion, is a very good gesture, made during a very formidable time.

This move makes up for the Greens’ previous errors on Romani issues, errors committed when, as a party in the governing coalition, they did not follow their principles and did not leave government after then-Deputy Prime Minister Jiří Čunek made his offensive anti-Romani remarks. Ondřej Liška, the current Green Party chair, has said the following about this present-day collaboration with the SRP:

"The Green Party has always been interested in human beings’ engagement with the environment as a whole, including human rights, equal access to education, and affordable housing. This state has developed enormous debts and shortcomings in those areas, and we have decided on this collaboration at a time when large-scale anti-Romani demonstrations are taking place throughout society. The only way to improve this situation is to give Romani people the chance to participate as equals in solving problems. As a party, we have always had Romani candidates. Now there are more of them and we have been very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the candidates the Equal Opportunities Party has offered us."     

For my part, I have been surprised by some of the commentary on this alliance – not that I would ever deny anyone the opportunity to express their opinions, but I just do not understand what will ever satisfy those who have been critiquing this. Doesn’t it seem like a complete breakthrough to you all that the Green Party has offered so many places on their candidate lists to Romani candidates?

Yes, it’s true, these are not electable slots, but currently even the leading Green Party candidates in the various electoral districts are unsure whether they will be chosen or not. Do you think Romani candidates could negotiate better slots without being involved with the SRP (or any other party)? 

Go ahead and try. No one since 1990 has succeeded.

Maybe someone out there is good enough to manage this – and if you are, then don’t set your sights on just one slot, please! My fingers are crossed for you!

I don’t know – I keep waiting in vain for more voter discipline from some Romani people, for promotion of the parties whose programs include improving inter-ethnic coexistence in this country, instead of all this journalistic cleverness over whether something should be done to improve it. It would also be nice if we could keep in mind, not just during elections, but always, that the Romani minority also has many professionals who could perform as ministers and who would be willing to defend the interests of all population groups as needed, not just the interests of Romani people. 

We must find these people and offer them a place in politics. Instead of (or at least in addition to) their volunteer seats on government advisory bodies that are unable to overcome anything, despite all of their efforts, we should offer these people a real opportunity to change something and influence this country.