Kateřina Šafaříková: the boundaries have shifted in Czech society
Was 2025 a genuine turning point for Czechia, or just a shift in political tone? In Czechast, Seznam Zprávy journalist and opinion editor Kateřina Šafaříková reflects on Czech society, public aggression, and the country’s post-election foreign-policy course. Drawing on years spent in Brussels, she offers a sober assessment of where Czechia now stands in Europe.
Journalist and commentator Kateřina Šafaříková, who heads the opinion desk at Seznam Zprávy, sees the political changes of 2025 not merely as a new accent in Czech politics, but as a deeper shift in substance. Speaking on the Czechast podcast, she argues that boundaries once considered unthinkable have moved — and that Czech society has largely accepted this shift without visible resistance.
Kateřina rejects the idea that Czech society suddenly transformed. Support for parties such as ANO, SPD or the Motorists, she says, had always existed. What changed was the reaction — or rather the lack of it. In earlier years, the prospect of a government involving openly xenophobic or extremist forces would likely have triggered mass protests. In 2025, it passed almost quietly.
A recurring theme of the interview is everyday aggression and hostility in Czech public life. Drawing on her experience living in Belgium and France, Šafaříková describes Czechia as a society where politeness, respect and tolerance were never systematically cultivated after 1989. Political correctness, she argues, is not hypocrisy but a civilising norm that makes shared public space more livable — something Czech society still struggles to embrace.
This tension becomes especially visible in the treatment of women journalists. Šafaříková recalls the wave of violent abuse directed at a reporter who investigated a controversial politician, and the striking silence of much of the political class. For her, this silence speaks volumes about the fragility of democratic norms.
Looking ahead to 2026, Šafaříková expects unpredictability rather than stability. Czechia, she concludes, has entered a phase where democratic erosion does not arrive with drama — but with indifference.
Listen to the full interview with Kateřina Šafaříková on Czechast–available on your favorite podcast platform.
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Czechast, Radio Prague International
Czechast is a regular RPI podcast about Czech and Moravian culture, history, and economy.
