Million Moments for Democracy holds demonstration on Old Town Square, warns against rise of authoritarians

On November 17th, on Prague’s Old Town Square, several thousand people gathered in the afternoon for a demonstration organised by Million Moments for Democracy, called ‘Let’s Remain the Democratic Heart of Europe’. Ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, the organisers and participants want to warn the general public about the rise of authoritarian politicians, pointing to the political developments that have taken place in Slovakia and Hungary.

Singer David Koller performed at the demonstration, and a video greeting was sent by the former Slovak president, Zuzana Čaputová. The Million Moments organisation was founded after the parliamentary elections in 2017, which were won by the ANO movement, led by later Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. During subsequent protests, the movement criticised Babiš for not keeping pre-election promises and for conflicts of interest, and demanded his resignation.