Czech populists promise to remove Ukrainian flags if they enter government

The issue concerns the Ukrainian flag displayed at the National Museum in Prague as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.

“What is happening in the National Museum building is nothing other than appeasing the West, and therefore political. I categorically disagree with it,” Run said during campaign events.

A photograph accompanying a video of him shows the Ukrainian flag on the museum building crossed out.

“We do not have a position for the entire movement. I can answer as the leader of the Pardubice region. If this is a state building expressing solidarity with a country that has been attacked, I basically have no problem with it. We can discuss whether Ukraine was attacked or not,” Run said.

When asked if the Russian attack could really be discussed, he replied: “That is not my business. I’m just saying that, from my point of view, it started in 2014. It’s a matter for historians, not politicians. If a flag expresses solidarity, then I clearly miss the Palestinian flag.”

Asked what he would do if the decision depended on him, Run said: “If I were the minister of culture, I would not display foreign flags on government buildings.”

The flag at the National Museum and other institutions also concerns SPD politicians.

“And I say, if the SPD is in government after the upcoming elections, Ukrainian flags will be removed from all state buildings in one second,” party leader Tomio Okamura said.

“From Oct. 4, a period of flag removal will begin in Czechia. First, we’ll remove Fiala. Then the Ukrainian flags from state buildings,” SPD candidate Indrzhikh Reichl, who is running for parliament, wrote in a recent post.

The election favorite, former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s ANO movement, has been restrained in its comments on the matter. “It’s their business if they want to remove something. We don’t deal with such things,” ANO deputy leader Karel Havlicek said about the Ukrainian flags.

“We are preparing our program now; we have more important issues than flags,” he added.

Current Culture Minister Martin Baxa told Seznam Zprávy two years ago that the flags at the National Museum and other institutions were raised not by ministerial order but by decisions of the institutions’ directors.

The flag on the National Museum building at Wenceslas Square has received the most attention. Director Michal Lukes called it a symbol of solidarity with the country under attack and with Ukrainian museum workers.