Czech Soc Dems in Most to change billboard slogan from 15 words to four

The slogan on the controversial billboards erected by the Czech Social Democrats (ČSSD) in Most should be changed this week. In place of the original slogan -“Why should I regret being the majority nationality in my homeland? One state, one set of rules!” – local mayoral candidate Karel Novotný will address voters with the slogan “The same rules for all.” The local organization will be correcting all 12 billboards by papering the new slogan over the previous slogan and its allegedly racist subtext. Lubomír Holý, chair of the local ČSSD organization in Most, confirmed the move to the Czech Press Agency today.

“We still believe the original slogan does not have the racist subtext we have been accused of, but the pressure was too strong,” Holý said. Last week acting chair of the national party Bohuslav Sobotka called on politicians in Most to take the billboards down and announced their removal as a fait accompli on Sunday.

The billboards will not be removed entirely. “The Prague headquarters has approved the corrected wording already. We are agreed that we can post the new slogan,” Holý said. Today the SocDems in Most have started looking for a firm to produce the new ads and do not yet know how much it will cost to correct the 12 spaces. The only thing said to be certain is that only four words will remain out of the original 15.