Such a verdict seems surprising, given that Czechs have been much better off during the past twenty years than during most periods over the past two centuries. Most Czech towns and cities now look affluent. City centres have been beautifully restored. While under communism people had enjoyed full security of employment, their opportunities as consumers were modest; people seemed to have had more free time but fewer opportunities. These days, the Czechs work long hours but many of them appear relatively wealthy. Although there is much less social welfare available, there are many more entrepreneurial opportunities. Under communism, the Czechs were incarcerated in their country; now they travel abroad as a matter of course. Thousands of young Czechs study at Western universities and work abroad. Why then are the Czechs so dissatisfied? A clue to the widespread disillusionment lies in an article by Martin Komárek, which appeared in the highest-circulation Czech daily newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes on 19 November 2009 . Komárek is an old-style journalist who once praised ' socialist construction ' and the ruling communist party. After 1989, he switched sides and is now regarded as a right wing commentator. In response to the opinion poll results, Komárek states bluntly that his compatriots are wrong: in his view, the current regime in the Czech Republic is the best possible world, there is no alternative, and the disillusioned 57 per cent should wake up. A couple of days later, Mladá fronta Dnes added insult to injury by publishing an interview with psychologist Stanislav Hubálek, who argued that so many Czechs did not rejoice over the anniversary, ' because a large part of the nation is stupid ' . It is precisely this kind of media commentary which puts people ' s backs up in the Czech Republic and contributes to what former president Václav Havel has described as blbá nálada : a depressed mood in contemporary Czech society. Czech journalists tend to think they know best and they impose their simplified views on a disaffected public. Czech politicians ignore public opinion. For several years now, no political party has secured an outright majority at the elections, and governments in power with the slimmest of majorities often implement radical policies in direct opposition to the views of the majority of the voters. Democratic institutions may have been created in the Czech Republic, mostly with the help of the European Union, during the EU accession process, but they have not been internalised, says Jiří Pehe, former adviser to Václav Havel. There is no democratic culture , no public sphere, democracy in the Czech Republic has been privatised, says Pehe. In his view, Czech political parties do not behave like their counterparts in the West. They do not defend the public interest. They are more like private firms, trading in power and influence. Alienation among the general public seems quite acute and many people view the communist era with sentimentality (they were young and ' everything was good ' ). To the argument that there is at last there is freedom of speech, they point out that with high unemployment, people are afraid of losing their jobs and fear they might be punished for expressing unorthodox views. Many feel that

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