Two Motoristé ministers booed off stage at Strážnice folk festival; opposition demands PM intervene

Boos on stage

Culture Minister Ota Klempíř was booed and jeered during his opening remarks at the Strážnice folk festival on Friday. The next day, Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, also a Motoristé vice-premier, requested an appearance and was met with even louder hostility. The audience chanted "Vypadni!" (Get out!) and Macinka left the stage under continuous whistling. He later described the booing as "much more hysterical" than what Klempíř experienced and said he went on stage deliberately. On Facebook he called the experience a probe into the souls of the better part of society.

Political fallout

The incident dominated a Sunday TV debate on CNN Prima News. Deputy Prime Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) distanced herself from the Motoristé ministers' behaviour, saying people come to the festival for experiences, not to listen to politicians. She rejected any idea of cutting state subsidies for the festival, after Sports Minister Boris Šťastný (Motoristé) floated the possibility on social media. Schillerová declared that subsidy policy is not made according to booing.

“Subsidy policy is not made according to booing.”

Opposition party leaders demanded consequences. ODS chairman Martin Kupka said Macinka had come only to insult and provoke, and called on Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to apologise to the people. STAN leader Vít Rakušan argued it was the Motoristé, not the audience, who politicised the festival. Pirate Party chairman Zdeněk Hřib said the government should consider replacing some of its members, adding that when he was Prague mayor nobody booed him because it depends on who represents the government.

“You have a person who, wherever he goes, causes such an uproar and politicises every event.”

Organisers distance themselves

The festival management expressed regret that this year's programme had been overshadowed. They stressed that Minister Klempíř's appearance was intended as a natural courtesy to the Ministry of Culture, a long-time supporter, not as a political presentation. "We do not consider such displays part of the atmosphere we want to create in Strážnice," the organisers said. Macinka later told the TV debate he had tried only to speak to the audience's souls and that he had been invited as deputy prime minister. He maintained that the booing was damaging the festival's good name.