Česká společnost pod tíhou přímé volby - Prezidentské volby 2023 očima institutu Václava Havla – group of authors (2023)

The third direct presidential election of the republic was and undoubtedly will remain one of the most significant domestic political events of 2023. It was also a major topic for the Václav Klaus Institute, which is led by the previous head of state. He and his colleagues, who spent a whole decade with him at Prague Castle, know better than many others what the true content of the presidential office is, its competencies, possibilities, limits, and overall placement within the constitutional system of the republic. Therefore, we were particularly interested in the presidential election, but our experience also led us to view it not just from the perspective of the battle between specific candidates. We tried to contribute to a rational interpretation of the elections, which the media and political mainstream depicted as a struggle between good and evil, democracy and populism, East and West. Nothing could be further from reality. The articles in this collection were created over the two months leading up to the presidential elections. They are arranged chronologically and thus illustrate the gradual unfolding of the campaign and related events. After the election was held, we did not need to rewrite them. They did not concern only the presidential election but also general topics that our institute has long been dedicated to. The elections were nothing...