Pirates for adults

In the course of history, it's the trends that are important. A survey by Kantar CZ at the end of June gave the Pirates a 7.5 percentage-point gain compared to their 2017 election result, whereas ANO was down by 4.0 points. On a broader scale, ANO and the other illiberal parties, not counting ČSSD, were down by 5.5 points, while the demo-bloc was down by 1.5 points. A STEM poll released yesterday, but conducted at the same time, gave Miloš Zeman a 57% approval rating, down from his 64% peak as president. The illiberals still have a plurality in Parliament and at the Castle, but the importance of the Pirates as crossovers who can't easily be pigeonholed is rising. What's missing is a crossover party with actual coalition potential. That's basically what ČSSD has been, but its constant infighting is scaring away both liberal and illiberal voters. If ČSSD found a way to embrace its dual-faction schizophrenia instead of breaking up over it, it could become a crossover party for adults.