Tens of thousands protest in Prague against plan to fund Czech public broadcasters from state budget

Tens of thousands march in Prague

Tens of thousands of people gathered in central Prague on Sunday, 25 October, to defend press freedom and to oppose a government plan to overhaul how public radio and television are financed. The rally was organised by the civic initiative "One Million Moments for Democracy". Participants carried placards reading "Stop the government of arrogance and destruction" and "We do not want censorship back". Smaller protests on the same issue had already taken place in the days before in Prague, Brno and other Czech cities. Protesters argue that the change could undermine the editorial independence of Czech Television and Czech Radio.

What the bill would do

The right-populist government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, a billionaire, wants to abolish the fee households pay for public radio and television. Instead, it would finance the broadcasters directly from the state budget. The reform also cuts their funding by more than 15 percent. Critics fear this would make the broadcasters dependent on the government and turn them into mouthpieces for the governing coalition. The bill passed its first reading in the lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, during an unusual overnight sitting in the early hours of 24 October. It now goes to several parliamentary committees.

Presidential criticism

President Petr Pavel, a former general who was elected as an independent, criticised the haste with which the government is pushing the bill through parliament. His criticism focused on the procedure rather than on the content of the proposal. He argued that scheduling debate at night and over the weekend undermines trust in the good intentions of the bill's backers. Pavel also said public media are among the pillars of democracy. In his view, any significant reform needs a broad professional and public debate beforehand.

Government response and critics

Babiš rejected the accusations and declared that the government had no such intention.

Nobody intends to interfere with programming or news coverage.

Critics, including the European Broadcasting Union, the European Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, accuse Babiš of seeking to limit the independence of public media. Their warnings are set against the examples of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. Protesters share the concern that public media would become dependent on the authorities once the state budget becomes their main source of funding.