Unlike Hungary, Czechs Double Down on Liberal Policy Goals
Central Europe is witnessing a divergence that could push some countries into two ideological camps at a time when geopolitical strife is straining alliances.
A leading Czech governing politician says there needs to be more support for tolerant social and economic views domestically and in Europe and he plans to launch a think tank to promote such policies. Andrej Babis on Friday said his centrist party ANO–the second-largest party in the three-party coalition government that is leading in current opinion polls–will launch the Institute for Policy and Society in late September, a think tank that aims to anchor local political thought in a pro-European, liberal direction.
“Our movement in the European parliament is a member of the liberal fraction ALDE, and we want to define our Czech policies in liberal terms,” Mr. Babis told local daily newspaper Pravo in an interview published Friday.
This is happening all the while the Hungarian government moves in the opposite direction and shows increasing disdain for liberal democratic principles. ... Illiberal policies must be part of the political toolbox, Mr. Orban says, and he openly praises the current Russian political system led by President Vladimir Putin and cites it as an example for Hungary.
http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2014/08/15/unlike-hungary-czechs-double-down-on-liberal-policy-goals/
It is good that the Czech Republic is heading in a more liberal direction than is Hungary which seems to get more and more conservative.