Elections, The Leopard, and a Political Farce

The elections are over. The air is filled with opinions from political scientists, ordinary citizens, politicians, winners and losers alike, as well as political satire. Everyone has something to contribute. In the end, I could not resist adding my own commentary, although I had firmly decided not to comment on these elections.

During the election campaign and the post-election discussions, I found myself thinking about The Leopard. Not the animal, although it would probably have fitted rather well into this farce. I was thinking of the Netflix series entitled The Leopard. It depicted the historical developments in Sicily around 1861, before and after the unification of Italy. The Italian revolutionary Garibaldi, the decline of the old aristocracy, and the rise of a new, wealthy social class.

In the village of Donnafugata, according to the series, 512 eligible voters cast their ballots out of a total of 515 — almost 100 per cent. The mayor announces the election results.

"All voters voted in favour of unification. Not a single vote was cast against it."

One of the voters speaks up, insisting that this cannot be true because he himself voted against unification. The result has been manipulated. The elections have been rigged.

At this, the crowd turns against the lone dissenter. The mayor, who had announced the result, manages only a single sentence:

"Leave me alone."

Why am I recalling a story more than 150 years old, from a time when the mirage that ordinary people might actually influence something through elections was only just beginning to emerge?

Somehow, and I cannot quite explain why, it came to mind as I was walking to the polling station in my neighbourhood this year.

Nationwide, fewer than half of eligible voters turned out to vote. Hmm, strange, but not particularly surprising. It is always like that.

I walked to the polling station. It is only about fifteen minutes away. I did not take the car because of the carbon footprint I would have left behind. Not to mention travelling by private jet.

On my way, a stranger confronted me with a pointed question.

"Surely you're not going to vote? The smart ones know it's all been decided already. The First Lady made it perfectly clear that she was entitled to some rest, went out to buy herself a new swimsuit with taxpayers' money — her clothing allowance — and headed off to the seaside. And the President knows that the elections pose no threat to him and that he will be re-elected in the next presidential election, so why should he bother making an effort?"

I wanted to respond, but then thought better of it. I continued silently towards the polling station, thinking about The Leopard.

By then, I already knew that the man who had approached me in the street was wrong. The President had taken a private jet and made a highly demonstrative flight from Africa to a small village in the Czech Republic, just so that he could cast his vote after all, before flying back again by private jet.

I cannot imagine being willing to pay several million Czech crowns for such a journey.

Perhaps the President's security detail, which accompanies him, contributed towards the costs. Or perhaps his seriously injured friend, who, in my opinion, ought to return to the Czech Republic, where he would receive medical care, contributed as well — assuming that the private jet was transporting him.

I cast my vote, and I felt sad.

A head of state who holds elections in contempt? I cannot believe that.

Perhaps he simply knows more than we ordinary citizens do about how the elections will turn out, and his vote is not needed, not even as a moral example to the rest of us, the common people living beneath the castle.

At this very moment, as our elections are taking place, a significant announcement is being made by Donald Trump, who, according to media reports, is reaching an agreement with Vladimir Putin on importing oil from Russia and changing the sanctions previously imposed on Russia.

In doing so, he renders the entire forthcoming meeting in Miami, which is supposed to be attended by representatives of Ukraine, effectively impotent.

The meeting — the negotiations — is eventually cancelled because there is nothing left to discuss.

Then Donald Trump, the most powerful man in the world, goes on to declare that Zelensky should be replaced.

Once again, I realise how ridiculous we look when the media, and to some extent the public, devote such tremendous energy to the President and his peculiar holiday, to the First Lady's statements about the elections, and to the unclear position of Prague Castle on this entire unfortunate farce.

After all, perhaps they — "the smart ones" — are already quietly changing their coats, whether by the sea or in the desert.

What if something fundamental is changing in the geopolitical landscape, and they simply want to be the first to position themselves accordingly?

Meanwhile, we ordinary voters continue travelling on the same train, heading into a tunnel where there is no light…

Alena Vitásková Writer and commentator

Prague, 12 October 2026