Let’s Vote, Czechia!

The first evening of the Where are you heading, Czechia series took place on October 3, 2017 in Václav Havel Library. Jan Hartl (sociologist and founder of STEM research institute), Alžběta Králová (Institute of Political Marketing) and journalist Ondřej Kundra (Respekt weekly) came to discuss the upcoming elections in the Czech Republic: the expected turnout, standpoints of the youth and the factors influencing our decision making, including the effectivity of political campaigns.

The media play a crucial role in mobilizing voters to take part in elections, and so do politicians and political parties. The debaters criticized the ideological void of the current political campaigns as well as the inability of campaigning politicians to find topics, identify key problems and approach voters. The debate also touched upon the issue of the quality of local political marketing and its need to improve. On the other hand, the professionalization of political marketing can be counter-productive and can lead to greater manipulation. The debaters also opened up the question of correspondent vs. electronic voting in the context of electoral systems in Europe.

@okundra :Tyto volby budou o tom, jestli tato zeme bude pokracovat v ceste, kterou nastoupila po roce 89. #Cesko2017 #KamkracisCesko pic.twitter.com/Gh9iFaBLIl

— Aspen Institute CE (@AspenInstCE) 3. října 2017

The evening host and director of Václav Havel Library Michael Žantovský, asked the speakers about the much-discussed tipping point – the moment, which determines the future geopolitical direction of the Czech Republic. The debaters agreed that the majority of our residents comply with our position stuck half-way between the West and the East.

In the closing remarks, everybody took a strong opinion on the necessity to vote, even though the decision is not an easy one. The debate was organized in cooperation of Aspen Institute Central Europe, Václav Havel Library and the Respekt weekly.