In the wake of the Obama circus, Czechs muddle over the ringmaster’s optimism

By Linda Witters

 

A slideshow of Obama’s Visit to Prague from Karly Domb Sadof

Thousands of onlookers jammed Prague’s Hradcany Square on Sunday, April 5, waking at sunrise to see American President Barack Obama deliver his first public address on European soil since the presidential election.

Obama came at the time of another first: the Czech Republic was at the helm of the European Union Presidency– although just barely. The Czech government embarrassingly collapsed following a parliamentary no-confidence vote a few days before his arrival to attend the European Union-United States summit at the Prague Congress Center on the same afternoon as the U.S. President’s grand address.

Speaking in front of the majestic Prague Castle, Obama was greeted by a frenzy of fans waving everything from Czech and American flags to a copy of his latest book, ”The Audacity of Hope.” It seemed that Prague had been ignited with Obama fever, but the heavy presence of electrified expatriates, American study abroad students, and tourists left one gaping question– what were the Czechs feeling?

Tomas Poskocil, 28, said he came to Prague Castle because “for us, we are at the center of the world. We are at the head of the European Union and the most powerful man is coming to the Czech Republic. Today, we are writing history and I want to be here.”

But being there and believing are not the same. And Obama asked for a lot of faith.

The core content of his speech– a laundry list of how the U.S. would combat nuclear proliferation, coaxing bad guys and bad states to turn in their nuclear bomb material– was Havelesque in its reliance on the goodness of humanity. Obama needs you, he seemed to be saying to the crowd. Stop thinking about your little patch of grass, your personal grudges (against Russia, for instance, which controlled you for more than four decades but can now help us all with this anti-nuke thing), and join in our world peace project.

“Just as we stood for freedom in the 20^th century, we must stand together for the right of people everywhere to live free from fear in the 21^st.” Obama told the crowd, and millions worldwide.

Lucie Marquetova, who caught the speech on radio, hesitated to be swept up in the global Obama-mania. Summing up the response of the many Czechs we spoke to on that memorable day, she said, “I liked his ideas but it is important to have both feet on the ground. We would all like the world to be lovely and peaceful, but it is complicated. I am afraid that if he is very optimistic, people will expect a lot.”

With a history of disappointment over broken promises, doubt in grand Western political rhetoric runs deep here. Czechs generally find American idealism silly, and the current financial crisis has created an even more solemn mood.

“It’s just words, you know. I think it is just image. I will not take it seriously,” said Barbara Johajkova, a 23-year-old student volunteer ushering guests who turned up for the Obama circus.

 

Nonetheless, the crowd would swell to more than 20,000 and stretch deep into the tail end of the square, where hot dog and beer stands sought to capitalize on the occasion. While it is unclear exactly how many Czechs came out for Obama, the estimated thousands that did most likely leaned to the political left, cheering loudly when Obama declared it imperative that the world confront global warming. Czech President Vaclav Klaus, a notorious climate change skeptic and fierce opponent of Al Gore, was booed as he sought to greet the audience before the American leader’s speech.

Many Czechs chose to follow Obama’s speech on television or radio rather than rise at dawn and stand for three hours in the crush of the crowd, as security required. Approximately one million Czechs, or about 10 percent of the population, tuned to Czech TV to watch Obama, bringing the channel one of its highest ratings ever.

When Obama began to flirt with the idea of giving a public speech, many wondered whether there would be any trace of the enthusiasm that had caused hundreds of thousands to come out for American leaders in the 1990s. The U.S. was in many ways the role model for the formerly communist country making the transition towards democracy and a market economy.

But times have changed.

In off-the-record talks with New York University in Prague students, a member of the Czech parliament revealed that Czech officials discouraged Obama from giving a public speech at spacious venues such as the historic Wenceslas and Old Town Squares because they feared an embarrassingly poor showing. “Wenceslas Square fits 200,000 people and anything less looks half empty– you would have to fill it, and that’s not going to happen,” he said.

After all, it was an early morning weekend show. And Praguers like to get away from the city to the countryside on weekends if they can.

Although an eager crowd ended up pouring into the square, some dismissed its significance. “I think they are mostly tourists,” comments Johajkova, surveying the incoming stream of spectators already buzzing with excitement hours before the speech, set for 10 a.m.

Obama’s visit also hit on the sensitive issue of the proposed U.S. radar base, which would be built in the Czech area of Brdy and supposedly protect the U.S. against long-range missiles from Iran. (Many people in this part of the world believe the base is really the first step towards a system of blocking Russian attacks.) Two thirds of Czechs are against the base, according to recent polls.

A Sunday anti-radar demonstration, advertised up to a week beforehand by the group No to Bases, prompted police officers to block traffic near the National Museum on Wenceslas Square for a little over an hour. Although the organizers expected around 2,000 people to take part, the Czech News Agency placed the turnout at 500, a figure that likely included curious onlookers and gawking tourists.

Obama reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the controversial base in his speech with his usual caveat: “As long as the threat from Iran persists, we intend to go forward with a missile defense system that is cost-effective and proven.”

The Czech and foreign press seemed unclear whether Obama’s comments meant that the radar base plans would be scrapped, which is perhaps what he intended.

Obama wrapped up his Prague visit by meeting with Vaclav Havel, a leading dissident during the 1989 Velvet Revolution and the Czech Republic’s first post-Communist president. Referring to his personal experience, Havel warned Obama of a potential backlash if his rhetoric was not matched quickly with results. “People may believe that he has cheated on them, gave them more hope than what was justified,” Havel told journalists after the meeting.

Havel was speaking, of course, from his own experience. His countrymen suffered the inevitable disappointment in the 1990s after democracy, capitalism, and Havel’s truth-and-love philosophy did not fulfill their great expectations.

Obama told Havel that he feels this disappointment in his own shining star has already begun, according to press reports.

Most Czechs feel like it is still too early to pass judgment, that Obama hasn’t been sufficiently tested yet.

When asked whether he liked Obama, Jan Zublina, a 22-year old who saw his Prague speech, replied, “How can I like or not like him? He hasn’t done anything yet. It’s still too early.”

But with his presidency approaching the six-month mark, North Korea once again defying the international community with another rocket test, and a worsening global economic crisis, the patience for results will not last for long.

Juraj Kulcar, 45, would not consider himself happy about Obama’s visit, but believes that “it is right that Obama takes care of Europe. He needs to do something. And it is important because there are many problems and not much time, and all of the young people are looking to see what will happen soon.”

 

Related Links:

Video of Obama’s Prague speech

Local reactions to Obama’s speech

 

 

 

 

 

Linda Witters is a second-year student at New York University studying politics and journalism. She is from Shanghai, China.