Reviving the power of laughter

How a satirical website in the Moravian capital of Brno is empowering young Czechs to shake off a tradition of apathy

Guest Writer | 02.01.2012

A satirical website has sprung up In response to the Moravian capital’s uninspired ‘Žít Brno’ (Live Brno) campaign — which it failed to register a domain for; one of the site’s writers posted an article saying Brno authorities wanted to rename the city to ‘Krno’; the idea has gone viral, much to the chagrin of local authorities

If there’s one undeniable trait to describe many of the Czech Republic’s leading politicians — figures such as President Václav Klaus or former PM Jiří Paroubek — it’s that they take themselves very seriously. In the country’s second-largest city, Brno, a team of makeshift satirists are doing their best to bridge the ‘democratic deficit’ by empowering citizens to take local authorities down a peg through humor.

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Czech politicians without humor

A Concerned Citizen|03.01.2012 - 11:26

It's good to see Matěj Hollan and the website ZitBrno.cz focusing on a big problem with Czech politicians like Vaclav Klaus: they are completely humorless. And nothing is more dangerous (or boring) that a politician with no sense of humor. They always end up thinking they are small (or big) gods.

One thing the late Vaclav Havel had---and we now miss---was a sense of humor about the world and about himself. He knew he wasn’t perfect and was able to laugh at absurd politicians.

So I am pleased to see the people at ZitBrno.cz pointing out the imperfections of our politicians. Will Klaus and his cohorts learn something from them? Probably not. They are not interested in becoming better human beings. But at least we can enjoy a good laugh.

So let’s have a “ZitBrno.cz” for every city in the country. Especially one for Prague!