Czech Republic bans Lenin, the new Bohemian fascism that outlaws "communist propaganda"

What happened in Prague, once upon a time, immediately burst into the center of political propaganda in Italy. For twenty years, gallows, purges, and tanks inflamed public rhetoric, and not only during election times. Starting with De Gasperi, what was happening in the East was immediately emphasized because it was supposed to inspire the de te fabula narratur in the capitals of the West.

Now that the Czech Republic is sending clear signs of authoritarianism, no one is mentioning what is happening under Petr Fiala's government. Half of the Democratic Party (PD) shares the equation between communism and Nazism. And many have voted for the resolutions proposed in the European Parliament by the grandchildren of Hitler 's pro-war regimes. Yet Bohemia isn't so far away. It's the only case in Europe where a parliament finds itself empty on its left. Meloni 's allies are in charge there, and Salvini's allies are agitating for a replacement. With such groups at the helm, a laboratory could effectively be established for building yet another third-millennium autocracy in the Elbe River basin.

Revealing a keen anti-Communist sensibility in Prague , the promoters of the recent liberticidal law want to ban the hammer and sickle symbol. They also prescribe up to five years in prison for anyone wearing a T-shirt with Lenin's face. In the squares, before the Occhetti deluge, many young people marched with the image of the lawyer-leader who in ten days shocked the world. Should they all be thrown behind bars? And does Democratic Senator Mario Tronti, who celebrated October in his own style at the Palazzo Madama, also deserve an exemplary posthumous excommunication? The text of the provision signed by President Pavel, a former NATO general, even introduces the crime of "class hatred." Not only old Marx, but even Machiavelli would not fare well in the Czech courts. The fate of the beard of Trier is not worth much. Perhaps they will tear down the bronze monument in Karlovy Vary, where the Moor went for spa treatments. What is surprising, according to the penal code, is that the Florentine Secretary himself would be called to appear in the dock.

The crime? Having evoked the class conflict that turned ancient Rome "upside down" some time after "the dispute over the agrarian law. " For several decades, " this law remained as if dormant." Then, however, "factions" arose over the distribution of land, which, in view of property, " kindled such hatred between the plebs and the Senate." The clash between the two "humours," from the formal level of institutions, moved to the material level of the economy. The battle to "divide honors and wealth " unleashed fiery social "dissensions ." In the end, in the conflict, "the nobility remained superior," and did not spare even exceptional means, because "when it came to property, such was their obstinacy in defending it." Thus, four centuries of republicanism were swept away with the triumph of Caesarism. But the collapse would probably have occurred earlier, if the plebs had not, to " inflate their appetite," fought against "the ambition of the nobles." The contradiction would soon have eroded Roman freedom because, following the "scandals" aimed at dividing "property among the plebs," the nobility appeared hostile to any legislation designed to " keep the public wealthy." The plebeian riots against " powerful men ," the " enmities of Rome" in reaction to the " ambition of the nobles," projected a climate of contention whose apprehension was forbidden by the Prague prosecutors.

The current conservative inhabitant of Villa Kramář, a friend of Giorgia Meloni, would even lock up Dante, who was unable to contain his political hatred. Canto VIII describes his encounter in the " filthy pool" with one of his enemies. Among the " muddy people," Filippo Argenti welcomes him, asking, " Who are you who come before now? " and hopes to meet him again among those who have sinned. Nothing, neither Christian piety nor the classical reason of Virgil (who, indeed, having become a staunch partisan, kisses the poet and shouts at his adversary, " Away with the other dogs!"), is capable of placating Dante. Toward the "muddy" persecutor who forced him into exile in life, he rails in utterly violent language: "Cursed spirit, you remain; / for I know you, even though you are filthy."

Hatred in politics cannot be erased, and even such a destructive feeling (“ here they will lie like pigs in the mud, / leaving behind horrible contempt” ) Dante does not disguise it: “Master, I would very much like to see him plunged into this broth, / before we leave the lake.” And Virgil also understands the outburst: “You must rejoice in such a desire .” The arrogant rival, as he falls into the waters and is attacked by the damned, has no choice but to bite himself ( “and the bizarre Florentine spirit / turned within himself with his teeth” ). In the fetid waves of today's Europe, these conservatives, who “ now consider themselves great kings up there,” are capable of throwing anyone who dissents into a sealed Stygian swamp and of building a prosaic city of Dis wherever they rise to power. At least a brief comment, during a sleepy question period, could perhaps be ventured, dear Gianni. It would be a modest sign of concern for a matter of seized freedom, as well as a scarred memory.

FROM

Michael Prospero