Warsaw, Prague, Budapest as well as Kharkiv and Reykjavík speak of populist governments

When populists rule the country, cities must fight for freedom, say the mayors of more than thirty cities who are in Bratislava these days. The Pact of Free Cities met here.

This grouping was originally created by Bratislava, Prague, Warsaw and Budapest back in 2019, when the third government of Robert Fico was ruling in Slovakia, Andrej Babiš was the Czech prime minister, the Law and Justice party (PiS) was still ruling in Poland, and Viktor Orbán was ruling in Hungary. Since then, more than thirty cities have been added, among them, for example, Berlin, Los Angeles, Kyiv and, most recently, Kharkiv.

The mayors of the Pact of Free Cities have now adopted a declaration at a summit in Bratislava, in which they express concern about widespread populism in national governments, as well as the decline of trust in public institutions, and emphasize the role of cities in protecting democracy and an open society.

Against politically motivated violence and the decline of democracy

In the so-called Bratislava Declaration, the mayors criticize the trend of “decline of democracy” in national governments, which monopolize public institutions and the judiciary, fight against free media, spread hoaxes or disinformation, and nepotism in public positions.

“Nationalist chauvinism and hegemonic tendencies of authoritarian regimes and xenophobia undermine the economic, social and territorial stability of communities around the world,” the declaration said.

The declaration does not mention any specific country in this regard.

The signatories of the declaration, which was created less than two weeks after the assassination of Prime Minister Robert Fico, strongly condemn any politically motivated violence