As Czechia gears up for a parliamentary election in early October, the country's queer community says that a shift to the right could endanger its rights and liberty.

Prague

Tens of thousands attended Prague's annual Pride Parade, which this year emphasized defiance and solidarity amid growing concerns about the future of LGBTQIA rights in Czechia. With polls suggesting a possible return to power for populist parties, many fear the country could follow neighbouring Hungary and Slovakia, where populism has led to increased hostility toward queer communities.

Activists and organisers note that support for LGBTQIA rights among major political parties is diminishing, and legislative reforms such as same-sex marriage remain unlikely if right-wing parties prevail. The parade's theme, 'Where Is My Home?', reflected a call for safety and unity, with community leaders urging continued mobilisation and resistance regardless of the election outcome.

Queer Czechs fear for their rights as polls predict shift to right

On the first weekend in August, over 45,000 people attended this year's Pride Parade in the Czech capital Prague, filling the streets with vibrant colours, infectious rhythms and music. What made this year's parade different from other years was the call for defiance and solidarity. As Czechia gears up for a parliamentary election on October 3rd and 4th, many Czechs feared that their country could follow the path of neighbours Hungary and Slovakia, where rising populism has fuelled hostility toward and disinformation about LGBTQ plus people. Musician and teacher Nikola Bratrichova says it would be catastrophic for thousands of queer people like her if a populist government came to power in Czechia. For sure, like for the upcoming election, we have so many far-right wings there, like ultra-conservative, and this is the biggest fear right here. And yeah, after this question, it's hard to think that we can be the same like in the situation like in Hungary or Poland or Slovakia. Like the people will feel that they can say bad things, they can attack people more, and I just cannot imagine the situation that will happen here after all the regimes we had, and I don't know what's happening with the people here. Several pollsters in the Czech Republic suggest that the populist party led by former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš may return to power. Many politicians and queer rights activists fear that if right-wing parties do form the next government, Czechia could follow its neighbours down the populist path. Adela Kučera, a transgender politician from Prague, says that same-sex marriage and other legislative reforms would remain a distant dream if the political landscape in Czechia shifts to the right. Some parties, notably right-wing or extremely left, they are anti-LGBT, but the biggest parties, both are quite conservative, and both have not, for example, supported equal marriage for everyone. So I think it is really important to work against that. We do not want to be down because of hate speech or hate agenda. We have to, of course, organise when there probably can be some laws against rights of LGBT plus people after election. The theme of this year's Prague Pride parade, Where Is My Home?, was inspired by the first line of the Czech national anthem and was a call for a safe home for the queer community. Organisers say that the 2025 parade was more of an act of protest and solidarity than a celebration. Lenka Hranova, a member of the Prague Pride organisation's board, says that the number of political parties defending and supporting the rights of the queer community is diminishing. In such times, she says, it's important to mobilise the queer community to protect its rights. Let's say when the parade was beginning, it was a protest. And now we can see in some countries, like in the Western world, it can be a celebration. But in Central Europe and Eastern Europe, it's still a protest. So when there are extremists and far-right people, we just need to be more louder, because we can't be scared of them. So that's why we also have this theme of Where Is My Home?, so we want to choose the people that are standing by us. With the general election in the Czech Republic less than a month away, the country's queer community has fewer options to choose from when it comes to parties that will safeguard its rights. But Nikola and others like her say they will go on fighting for their rights, no matter who comes to power in October.

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