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comparable to the area of a Habsburg province a hundred years ago [and even
though] contemporary smaller nation states are rarely known by the same name
as Habsburg provinces they are more or less in the
same situation.
In the EU, Czechs opt for the status quo with no
common European currency and no common refugee
policy, and with no delusions of European federalism,
but with economic liberalism, acceptance of domes-
tic oligarchs and traditional moral permissiveness (for
which the greatest threat today seems to be, ironically,
the refugee policy of the European Commission). We
may call it liberal populism and its prophet is Andrej Babiš, a post-communist bil-
lionaire originally from Slovakia. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, he stated
that two years ago he met with Emmanuel Macron, who was very impressed with
the electoral success of ANO, a political party established and financed by Babiš.
If the story is true, then the Czech contribution towards Europe might prove to
be even more paradoxical.Translated by Justyna ChadaAleksander Kaczorowski is a Polish author and journalist. He is the author
of several books, including a biography of Václav Havel titled Havel, which
was awarded the Ambassador of New Europe prize in 2015. He is also
the editor in chief of the Aspen Review Central Europe journal.Czechs opt for
the status quo
with no common
European currency
and no common
refugee policy.Poles and Czechs across generations The Czech paradox, Aleksander Kaczorowski