The protesters demanded that the Prime Minister Petr Fiala must resign from the post, condemning his coalition government for its western-oriented policies and number of other issues.
On the other hand, Fiala, whose government lately survived no-confidence vote, is blaming pro-Russian for instigating this protest. He is of the opinion that people, who are pro-Russian and are against the interests of the Czech Republic, are trying to cause political instability in the country.
The country has been witnessing for the first time the worst cost of living in the past 30 years or so. It reported the inflation at 17.5% in July, the highest since 1993. There are multiple factors that have contributed to the fast paced rise in inflation, including fuel and gas crisis, Covid, and also the growing level of immigrants. Close to 400 thousands refugees have arrived in Czech Republic since the war broke between Ukraine and Russia.
As Russia has choked the supply of energy to Europe, after being sanctioned, the energy prices have been on the rise ever since. Many European countries are struggling with energy shortages, thus inflating the cost of living for the common citizens. They are being told to cut down on energy consumptions. Increased energy bills and high inflation are forcing the people to compromise on their standard of living. This has infuriated most of the people, thereby resulting in protests and displeasure.
Recently, Russia's Gazprom shut down Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline, the key gas supply to Europe, due to some leakage. The pipeline was shut down for three days on August 31 for maintenance and was supposed to resume on September 2. However, now it has been closed indefinitely. This is going to have the worst repercussion on many nations in Europe, especially considering the high demand of energy during the winter, which is round the corner.
The countries that have a very high dependence on Russian supply of energy, such as Holland, Germany, Finland, are expected to suffer the most and witness very high energy inflation. Russia has blamed western sanctions for the disruption in the energy export.
2022 has proven one of the worst years for the entire Europe, as it has already suffered various catastrophes, like drought, heatwave, the rising cost of living, and now self-invited energy crisis. There isn't much Europe can do to ward off the crisis in terms of looking for alternate options. However, the governments must put their heads together and come up with a concrete solution, before it is too late. With already skyrocketing prices and acute shortage of energy, the winter looks grim for the entire Europe.
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