Say it in rimesHits below the belt in Czech village politics

Birsit Mtiller

The distinctions between right and left, be-tween political objectives that are pro-marketor pro-communism are blurred in Czech vil-lage politics today. Political fights there areintensely linked to relations of love and ha-tred dating far back into the communist eraand,to moral convictions and material inter-ests going beyond conventional political-ideo-logical boundaries. Having 'a communist past'as well as being at present member of the com-munist party matters in the unfolding strugglefor power in the village, but it does not corre-spond to political convictions generally attrib-uted to communism, such as a critical attitudetowards privatization, tnarkets and fbreignmultinational companies. The intense fightbetween two f'actions in the village Moklo-vousy, that I will analyze here, plays preciselywith the political categories of communism anddemocracy. It is characterized by a complexblend of political traditions and newly emerg-ing interests and preferences mixing them withpersonal feelings and resentments.

This dynamic finds a pointed expression inanonymous poems written during the term ofoffice of the first mayor of the opposition inthe villag'e in 1994 They were produced byboth factions and hung out fbr everybody toread in front of the vil lage administration.These poems wil l be the starting point for un-raveling the complexities of post-socialist vil-lage polit ics and the emotional involvementof the main political actors. I am particularlyinterested here to examine how the expressionof emotions in public space is l inked to socialand political judgement and political engage-ment. What does it tell us about the sisnifi-

cance of emotions in the period of post-com-munist transformation?

Polit ics always involve emotions and emo-tions have played a central and controversialrole in political theory. On the one hand theywere considered contrary to reason and thusdamaging for a reasonable public order. Al-ready in the Republic, Plato wanted to banthe poets from the ideal city because they pro-voked emotions like fear, sorrow, and pity, thatshould not be encouraged among reasonablepeople. On the other hand emotions ncverentirely disappeared from the inquiries in thesocial and polit ical sciences. Despite rationali-zatton, most authors acknowledged, affbctivebonds are necessaly fbr creating and sustain-lng socrety.

Behavior in public space should be governedby a code that excluded emotions as dislup-tive. As Albert Hirschman uncovers, betweenthe seventeenth and the eighteenth century,during the rise of capitalism - and contr:ibut-ing to its expansion - the notion of passionwas replaced by the notion of interest. Emo-tions and feelings, known then as passions,came to be perceived as noxious to the pr:operorderly conduct of polit ical and capitalist af-farrs. While passions came to be associatedwith unruly human impulses that would leadto social confl ict and economic decline, inter-est became synonymous with rationality andthe abil ity to rein in the irrational (Hirschman1977). What was in i t ia l ly a normat ive projec-tion by a number of thinkers including AdamSmith - that 'negative' passions should bechecked and replaced by virtues or 'positive'passions and transfomed into interest - was

Focaal - Europeart Journal ofAnthropologr- no. 39, 2002: pp.29-39 29

later standardized as the principal assumptionof economists and polit ical scientists: humansare rational beings motivated by the pursuitof self-interest (Smith 1976).

However, commitment to social nonns nec-essalily involves emotions. Without emotionalinvolvement man becomes indifferent to hisenvironment (Nietzsche quoted in Habermas198 | : 355). All value judgements contain emo-tions and those provide the meaning and theorientation to life that allow man to act (Elster1995: 48). In social movements the polit icalawakening is always also accompanied by anemotional response. Insult and anger at se-crecy and political duplicity, an empatheticstrive for justice establish connections be-tween personal experiences and events ofglo-bal consequence (Berglund 1998: I I 3)

Also. in reverse. social norms inf' luence theexpression of emotions and sometin.res theemotions themselves. The expression of po-l i t ical commitment Lo a cause or a convict ion,for instance, without the display of a certaindegree of emotional involvement makes it ap-pear untrustworthy in the eyes of the public.Or, as Paperman pointed out, the absence ofemotions in circumstances that are sociallydefined as highly meaningful, such as elec-tions or debates on moral principles, can beregarded as an offence (Paperman 1995).

Emotions are thus vital for political life andin particular for a lively democratic system. Itis impossible to protect democracy entirelyfi-om the antagonisms and even hostilities, thatare part of political life (Mouffe 1994: ll).Democratic politics always consists in domes-ticating potential antagonisms, without elimi-nating passions or relegating them back toprivate l ife. To perceive polit ics only as a ra-tional process based on negotiation betweenindividuals means to neglect the dimension ofpower-and conflict of the polit ical and thus tobe mistaken about its nature (Mouffe 1994:l5l ). Conflicting emotions and opinions haveto be given a forum where they can be ex-pressed and acted out. There is a convention,however, in most democratic societies to avoid

30

in public polit ical discourse crit icism ad ltont-inent and the relationship of off'ence and ag-gression itestablishes (Th6venot 1995: 150).

In the particular context of post-socialist vil-lage politics emotionally loaded attacks adhomin.ent, however, play a decisive role. In thesudden power vacuum after November 1989personal struggles take place for polit icalpower, economic gain and career opportuni-ties. At the local level, slander attacks happensimultaneously with appeals for social justiceand economic well-being thal cut across theideological divide. Political engagement seemsto go together with crusades against others,whi le disengagement is just i f ied on thegrounds that it is necessary in order to live inpeace with one's neighbors. Gossip thus be-comes an instrument fbr settling personal andpolit ical accounts that are inextricably l inked.As even those vil lagers who do not want totake sides in polit ical confl icts, engage in gos-sip about their fellow vil lagers, it is an irnpor'-tant tool for defining and redefining the socialposition that the individual - and especiallythe prominent one - occupies in the commu-nity. Blame-gossip (Sva5ek 1997: 102) is hereinseparably linked to praise-gossip. To whatextent, however, does gossip strengthen thesocial bonds in the village, as Gluckman pre-tends (1963: 308X And under whatconditionscan it serve to enable the village to act to-gether in the face of adversity? Can it dissolveor does it rather exacerbate the tensions anddivisions that the post-socialist transforma-tions bring about?

Political morality and economic need

In the per iod of deep social and pol i t icalchange the Czech Republic has been goingthrough since the Velvet Revolution of 1989,the values advocated by communist ideology,such ad, the principles of equality and solidar-ity and the principle of absolute truth incar'-nated in the Communist Party, have been re-placed in the official discourse of the new de-

mocracy byand competrofficial nonplex realitythe commurlng protecu(companres, \requlre reguthe state. Nether of the c

One of thediction is l intrmes the ofluon was ne\'therefore coest of the vilrent the cheand to pay lis'hile advanofficial idecchimera- a t,ilpmselves trillage coul<ern infrastru,council didpersonal linl

ftials on thro manipulato tlreir advi

Taking mafcr communcollective ercornmunir'* Iposrtrve enetL^highl! '*hnk betu'eelLage councintral most l'es of ttre tilmn of infoa

The link tirursr. StepddE 1990s,mpany thifrrmmv nearElrc sPrnl.drrre prof€t

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i crit icism ad hom-of offence and ag-ivenot 1995: 150).fpost-socialist vil-loaded attacks adlecisive role. In the:r November 1989rlace for polit icalcareer opportuni-

der attacks happenls for social justicehat cut across theengagement seemsies agarnst othels,just i f ied on thein order to l ive in

;. Gossip thus be-tl ing personal andrextricably l inked.to do not want tolts. en-sage rn gos-ers, lt it an lmpor-lefinin-e the socialr- and especial lyes in the commu-1997: 102) is here:-gossip. To whatip strengthen thes Gluckman pre-r what conditions;i l lage to act to-r? Can it dissolvethe tensions andrlist transfofma-

:onomic need

r l and pol i t icalhas been goingclut ion of 1989,nunist ideology,l ity and solidar-ute truth incar-r. have been re-l of the new de-

Docracy by values such as, liberty, pluralityrd competition. However this change in theofhcial normative system encounters a com-plex reality at the local level. Protagonists offu communist regime find themselves seek-lg protection and support from'multinationalcwrpanies, while opponents of the regime nowrcquire regulation of economic activities fromfu state. Neither of them fits entirely into ei-ther of the opposing normative systems.

One of the reasons for this seeming contra-diction is linked to the fact that in communisttrmes the official share in the central distribu-tion was never sufficient for the village. It wastrcrefore considered a moral act in the inter-est of the village and its inhabitants to circum-rent the channels of centralized distributionand to pay lip-service to the official discoursewhile advancing particularistic interests. Theoffrcial ideology was discredited as a merechimera, a tool used by the powerful to givethemselves the appear-ance of legitimacy. Novillage could expect to get a fair share in mod-em infrastructure if the members of the villagecouncil did not succeed in establishing closepersonal links with bureaucrats and party of-ficials on the regional and national level andto manipulate the regional investment plansto their advantage.

Taking materials and tools from work to usefor community projects, using equipment ofcollective enterprises for special tasks in thecommunity brigades was considered part of apositive engagement for the community andthus highly valued. A close fbrmal or informallink between the local enterprises and the vil-lage council was indispensable to advancewhat moSt villagers saw as the primary inter-est of the village, for example the moderniza-tion of infrastructure.

The link the communist mayor of Mokro-vousy, Stepan, sti l l in power in the beginningof the 1990s, tried to establish with a Germancompany that wanted to build a large cementfactory near the village, was in the same prag-matic spirit. Surrounding Moklovousy, is anature protected area, the Cesky Kras, famous

among geologists fbr its geological formationsand coveted by fbreign investols for its le-serves of pure limestone. The factory was tobe built next to an extended quarry and lirne-stone factory, that had been exploiting the lime-stone since the middle of the 1960s. Environ-mental activists from inside and outside thearea objected that the planned cement factorywas to accelerate the depletion of the preciouslimestone resources and to pollute the air.However for the inhabitants of the surround-ing villages it also promised an inflow of newresources, jobs and money, in a time when fi-nancial resources were extremely scarce at thelocal level.

The local population was thus divided intheir support or opposition to the factory. Thecommunist mayor, Stepan, supported theproject wholeheartedly as it appeared Iike therealization of a drearn from comrnunist tinreswhen, in the 1970s, a gigantic cetnent f'actoryhad been planned by the Czechoslovak stateto tower over Moklovousy. Nobody had ob-jected to this project at the time. In the 1990s,mayor Stepan set hope in the new pr-oject. Heexpected the foreign company to provide thevillage with financial help as the new Czechstate devolved new responsibil i t ies to the lo-cal communities without granting them thenecessary financial means. He counted on theforeign investor to assume some of the func-tions the new Czech state had failed to takeover from the socialist one. He wanted thecompany to finance the gas piping, get thewaste water system under way and equip theschool with the badly needed pedagogicalmaterials.

The vil lages around the quarry were poor inspite of the fact that precious limestone wasextracted from their territories. The possibil i-ties for action at the local level were limited asonly few financial resources where devolvedfrom the state to the local communities. Thelaws about the extraction of raw materials, thatstill dated back to communist times, artributedonly a small portion of the already low tax onraw materials to the local communities. The

Focaal - European Journal ofAnthropologl, no. 39,2002: pp.29-39 JI

institutronal reforms after 1989 did not intro-duce a democratically elected government atthe regional level of decision making as anintermediary instance between national gov-ernment and the local communities. Financialresources for infrastructure, schooling, dis-tributed at the regional level to the communi-ties, were thus attributed on an entirely ad-ministrative basis.

The opponents,of the factory project sawthe foreign investor and his communist sup-porters as continuing the old system whendecisions about the future of the local com-munities were taken behind their backs andimposed on them by the bureaucrats in Pragueand Beroun. What made the investol espe-cially unpopular, was the fact that he had ini-t ially ignored the opinion ofvil lagers and hadnot consul ted them about the investmentploject Also the fact that the company hadi ts headquarters in Cermany arose suspic ionand levived memories of the Second WorldWar, when the Czech main-lands were a Ger-man protectorate and its productive capaci-ties were to serve the German war effort. Theopponents of the cement factory argued thatthe Germans were exploit ing the beautifulCzech countryside to keep their own 'Bavar-ian landscapes' intact. 'You would neverhavesuch a project in Germany' , was an often heardargument. The issue was taken up by the twornost important ecological groups on the na-tional level and received wide coverage in thenewspapers. A nation-wide petit ion was cir-culated against the cement factory, and soli-darity concerts were organized around thequarry. The cement factory became known asa symbol for the destruction of the beautifulCzech countryside by fbr-eign capital. The areaof Mokrovousy became famous in the Czechpolit ical landscape after 1989, for its capacityof detelmined resistance.

The conf l ic t about the investment projecrwas in full bloom when the nation-wide localelections were scheduled in the autumn of1994. In the three villages surrounding thequarry the citizen initiatives set up their own

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electoral lists and defeated the lists set up bythe communist mayors. The rnajority of inhab-itants of Mokrovousy supported the citizenrnitiative. However, not all of them did so be-cause they had strong ecological convictrons.

The two factions that opposed each otherin the local elections had their supporters indifferent sections of the village population.The communist mayor Stepan was supportedmainly by the families in the village that hadhad for generations a tradition of limestonemining and chalk burning or had bien manuallaborers in agriculture. He had been a tractordriver in the agricultural co-operative beforededicating most of his time to politics and join-ing the communist party. After 1989 he changedthe designation ofhis profession from tractoldriver to 'aglicultural technician', an etnbel-l ishment laughed about by his opponents. Hewas popular among his supporters as theycounted on his well-established relatrons frorncommunist t imes to the regional administra-tion in Beroun. To have him as a mayor wasseen as a safe bet, as a wan-anty for continuityin spite of all the upheavals

The cit izen init iative led by Bina was sup-ported by inhabitanls from old peasant fami-lies and by the newcomers who had settled inthe village because of its relative proximity toPrague. They were attracted by the attentionthe initiative received in the regional and na-tional media. For them it represented the newtimes when open criticism could be voiced andwhen the old power structures were shakenand quest ioned. Whi le they opposed f-er-vently or for the most pal't moderately thebuilding of the cement factory, their opposi-tion was like an attempt to explore whetheropposition and also change were possible inthe new polit ical system. The idea of changebecame an aim in itself and had no tangiblepurpose attached to it.

When the challengers obtained a five seatmajority oT the nine seats in the village coun-cil they had to choose the mayor among theirranks. This proved a problem as most of then.rwere working during the week outside the vil-

lage. The head of thecame home onlt'on rr'ting for a companr.insall over the countrrchoice fell on Branr.tu.o local shops. uhclage as a member of alaborers - the Black Ithirry years ago.

Ilirror images: tl

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the l ists set up bymajority of inhab-,orted the citizenrfthem did so be-

;ical convictions.rosed each otherreir supporters rnllage population.ln was supportedr village that hadion of limestonehad been manualad been a tractoroperative beforepolit ics andjoin-: 1989 he changedsion from tractorlcian', an ernbel-is opponents. He)porters as theyedrelations fromonal administra-as a mayor was

rty for continuity

y Bina was sup-ld peasant fami-ho had settled inliveproxrmity toby the attentionregional and na-esented the newild be voiced andes were shakeny opposed f-er-moderately the

ry, their opposi-:xplore whether'vere possible in: idea of changehad no tangible

ined a five seatre vil lage coun-yor among theiras most of them: outside the vil-

hge. The head of the citizen initiative, Bina,cane home only on weekends, as he was work-ig for a company installing telephone wiringll over the country during weekdays. Thefuice fell on Brany, the owner'of one of thetro local shops, who had arrived in the vil-

te as a member of a work brigade of forcedlrborers - the Black Barons (cerny barony) -tirty years ago.

Mirror images: the poems

A month and a half aftel the elections, in De-cember' 1994, the first anonymous poem ap-peared on the notice-board next to the villagecouncil and the post office, fiercely attackingthe newly elected mayor. A few days later arccond poem was hung up this time support-ing the new mayor. The poems read:

Alter electionsStepan's ClanDecember 1994

People are staring with amazementHow the people on the post of the mayor arechangingWe cannot see a differenceafter a while we will judge it all

What about the mayor, dear peoplefor how long will he be laughinghe does not knowhe has remote control

Dear buddy, hold yourself firmly in the saddleso that none of the afTair-s can move youthere are enough troubles waiting for youto the joy of the grey eminence (Bina)

He will manage to give you advicehe will manage to play the devilhe will help even the widowhe is a big scroungerHe has no good intentions with youhe waits until something goes wrong

then he wil l step in, juchhuwe wil l have eunuchs in command

So there is one good advice fol youlearn how to count, learn how to greet,be correct in the shopor it wil l soon happen that your customel wil lhit youif you can't be advisedeven the impartial Cada can't help youTel l to yoursel f : " isn ' t i t in me.even the DetiZeme won't help".

Now there will be only a lot of work, little timethere will be no time fbr poems, befole it waseasy to laugh

After elections 2Binas ClanDecember 1994

Communists are staring with amazementhow the people on the post of mayor arechanginga big change it really isthe used-to-be mayor was from the manure

The used-to-be mayor, dear peoplealready wil l not be laughing any morehe did not know, he had no ideahe had remote control

He was keeping firmly in the saddle,he thought that no-one could get hirn outhe had enough troublesto the joy ol ' the opposi t ion

He was controlled by the grandfather-whoknows everythingbut he was an old bearover the fish pond on a nice hil lhe was giving advices in his l i tt le house

He had good intentions with himbut he did not know that something will gowrong

Focaal. - European.Iountal ofAnthropologl, no. 39,2002: pp.29-39 33

il he was a big StB agentand also a big swine

that's why there is one good advice:

Learn how to not be envious, learn how tocontrol yourselfthe mayor knows very well how to sellyou are worse than himwake up a biteven mister Cada will helo himany advice will be good.Despite your hatewe will have a good,time, communists

Now there wil l be only a lot of work to puteverything back into orderto fix up their work, so that we will be able tolaugh

The two poems 'After elections' and 'Afterelections 2' are striking in their similarity cre-ating mirror images of mutual personal accu-sations. They do not refer to any of the politi-cal and ideological arguments used in the en-vironmental struggle that sparked off the elec-tion result. In spite of what divided ecologistsfrom the communists, they used the same levelof language and argument. Their elaborateworldviews seem to disappear behind emo-tions ofhurt pride, envy and hatred. Both sidesdirect their attacks against the person of theopponent, tlying to hurt him in his personalpride and ridicule him in front of the vil lage.Claimlng moral superiority the authors of thepoems offer incipient advice to the protago-nists of the opposing groups. They pretendto speak in the name of the whole village andto know the hidden mobiles of power-

The poem 'After elections' addresses thenew mayor as an incompetent unfriendly shopowner manipulated by the head of the citizeninitiative, Bina. It is written in the form of anultimatum engaging the mayor to take an in-dependent stance and to conform to the waysof politeness prevalent in the village thereby

34

integrating himself into the nctwork of per-sonal relations that govern the village affairs.If he would not conforrn so the poem men-aces, he will be all alone and nobody in thevillage will support him.

The issues raised are indeed central to theambivalent position of the new mayor in thevillage. He arrived in the I 960s as a member ofa work brigade in the village that includedpolitical opponents and petty criminals de-clared inapt and untrustworthy for military ser-vice. A 'rebel' at secondary school, he had toleave school without a degree and was notallowed to study or go into advanced profes-sional training. Instead of military service hewas then constrained to do the worst jobs inthe quary.

He broke with his parents who were con-vinced communists and married a girl from thevillage whose family name he adopted to rnarkthe rupture with his family background. After1990 he became the first private entrepreneurin the vil lage setting up a shop which enteredinto competit ion with the co-operative storethat the vil lagers had built in the 1970s. Aneighbor and confident of the equally rebel-lious but intellectually superiol fbunder of theobcanske forum (citizen forum) in the villa-ee,Bina, he had stood in his shadow until he be-camemayorin 1994.

When elected, the qrayor Blany was con-fronted with the difficulty of understandingthe decision-making processes and adminis-trative procedures necessary to run the vil-lage affairs. The old secletary who had ah'eadyserved the communist mayors was of no greathelp to him, as she clearly supported the out-going mayor. She was not prepared to helpBrany who had been regarded as an enemy ofthe state and an asocial element in communisttimes. Feeling surrounded by enemies, Branyreplaced the old secretary by the wife of thehead of the citizen initiative Bina.

The main target of the poem is indeed Bina,the outspoken aggressive head of the citizeninitiative, also called Bertik (small devil) byhis enemies. This name was given to him. be-

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The sr,vh of drerrinen as a reply isgr'le and contents dnmist mayor is ridth manure". frorn

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tu he had started ahing as an aEicultrm- The sening 14cretive greatly imprrial condition. Thrrulmral worker wrhrorableone. Wodrg to the official idof drc communist st:ppolitical office- Sfrun a representatir.-urncilor on the refu loss of his politirlso loss ofthe soci

Both poems addlrd the authors seenE w:rs brought to 16e inhabitants, whil

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re network of p9f-the vil lage aflairs.so the poem men-and nobody in the

leed central to the: new mayor in the,@s as amember oflage that includedetty criminals de-thy for military ser-y school, he had to:-eree and was notr advanced profes-military service her the worst jobs in

rt.s who were con-rried a girl from thehe adopted to rnarkbac,kground Afterr\ ate entrepfeneurhop which enteredco-opefatlve storet in the 1970s. Athe equally rebel-rior founder of theum) in the vil lage,radow until he be-

r Brany was con-of understandingsses and adminis-rr , to run the v i l -v who had alreadylrs was of no great,upported the out-prepared to helpld as an enemy ofent ln communlstr enemies, Branyrv the wife of theBinam is indeed Bina,:ad of the citizen(small devil) by

_given to him, be-

Jause he was disguised as a devil for a protestrction on the 6th of December 1994, when the

[rotesters in costumes of MikuLas, devil andrngel distributed leaflets against the cementt-actory A fervent anti-Communist he system-errcally answers the phone: "Here anti-Com-munist center Mokrovousy!" By referring toBrany as an "eunuch in command" his oppo-nents tried in a clumsy way to appeal to hismale pride and provoke a split between thecs'o men, that would make the mayor morerulnerable and easier to influence.

The style of the poem 'After elections 2'sritten as a reply is not more sophisticated insnle and contents than the first one. The com-munist mayor is ridiculed because "he is fromdrc manure", from the farm, and was once asimple tractor driver in the agricultural co-op-erative. The authors present him as the tool ofthe secret service (STB) in communist t imes,rhough they do not date to claim that he col-laborated knowingly and directly. Such an as-r€rtion would have been equivalent of accus-rng him of acrime thatexcluded him from hold-rn_e public office. The term 'Communist' is usedas an insult here.

The out-going mayor owed indeed most ofwhat he had achieved in life to the communistregime. Originating from an extremely poorfam-ily he had started as a young boy to earn hisliving as an agricultural laborer on a privatet-arm. The setting up of an agricultural co-op-erative greatly improved his economic andsocial condition. The position of a simple ag-ricultulal worker was in communist t imes anhonorable one. Workers were - at least accord-ing to the official ideology - the leading classof the communist state and encouraged to takeup political office. Stepan was thus promotedItom a representative on the local council to a;ouncilor on the regional level. For Stepan,rhe loss of his polit ical position in 1994 meantalso loss of the social status he had acquired.

Both poems address the issue of agencyand the authors seem to imply that their favor-ite was brought to power by the majority ofthe inhabitants, while some manipulating gray

eminence stood in the back of his opponentand pulled the strings. It is the issue of sup-port or isolation in the village community thatstands out most clearly in the argument. Whilethe supporters of the new mayor insist on thelarge support from all sides he can count onand the big changes he is thus bringing about,his opponents depict him as potentially iso-lated and unable to make a difference.

The troubles of a 'new democracy'

As anonymous expressions of slander thepoems are acowardly form of gossip. The slan-derer is safe, as he or she does not even haveto draw another person into his/her confi-dence. These poems would not qualify for'what Jim Scott calls 'hidden transcripts', thatis discourses that the powerless developamong themselves about and against those inpower and that are only voiced behind theirbacks (Scott 1990). The poems were writtenby the two factions of the vil lage that werealmost equally powerful and whose protago-nists were in open opposition to one-another.The fact of keeping the poems anonymousavoided the outbrpak of open hostilities. Al-though everyone in the village could guesswho might have written them, the authorscould benefit from the doubt and were able tocontinue to function normally with both fac-tions in the village on a day to day basis. How-ever at the same time a spilal of hate was setinto motion as gossip moved, with the openexposition of the poems, into the public spaceand replaced the exchange of polit ical andpractical argument.

The controversy between the two oppos-ing factions of the vil lage, based on personalattacks i l lustrates aspects of the problems in-volved in learning how to make a democraticrepresentation work at the local level. The elec-tion of 1994 in Mokrovousy, was the seconddemocratic election in the vil lage since 1990but it was the first one to oppose clearly de-fined factions and to have been preceded by a

Focaal - European.lounnL of AnthropoLog, no. 39, 2002: pp. 29-39 35

full fledged electoral campaign. Their outcomeposes the problem fbr the losers, who had been'keeping firmly in the saddle' for over foltyyears, to come to terms with their loss of powerand for the winners to leach out from the highmoral ground from which they advanced theircriticisms to problem solution on a day to daybasis.

The priority ofthe faction linked to the citi-zen initiative was a moral renewal in the vil-lage through a'settling of accounts with thepast. The change ofregime involved high ex-pectations among those of them disadvan-taged by the previous regime. They were there-fore morally outraged that communists couldstill wield power. By co-operating with citizeninitiatives on the national level in a committeethat studies the files of the communist secretservice StB, Brany and Bina wanted to per-petuate the memory of what 'the communistsdid'. Only if the past was not forgotten couldthe new political regime become a more openand transparent one. In his fight against theforeign investor and his supporters, Bina re-sented bitterly that again 'the truth' was cov-ered up and distolted and that deliberatelyfalse information was given to the public. In-volving media and legal council, the group,that constituted itself as an opposition to thecommunist mayor denounced his pragrnatismas amoral, accusing "The Communists" ofseeking al l iance with power whenever i tserved theil interest and no matter where itcame from. Their accusation proff'ered againstthe communist mayor Stepan, however, ofhaving co-operated with the StB agent in thevillage lacked factual evidence, as many of theStB accusations did. As StB archives wereneither complete nor was access open to thepublic an accusation of collaboration couldrarely be entirely proved or disproved. Thelists of alleged infbrmants circulated in thebeginning of the 1990s created a seedbed forrumors and hearsay emotionally loaded withsuspicion and fear.

On the other side, the supporters of the com-munist mayor Stepan saw the action of the

36

ecologists against the investors as fanatic,unlealistic, and contrary to the common good.In another poem stuck to the notice board theyenticed fhe new mayor

Keep your analysis to yourselfDon't get the donors involved

Instead ofcontinuing to crit icize, so his oppo-nents told the new mayor, it was now up tohim to show some concrete results and tosolve the dire problems of the village.

Start to buildAnd thanks to thatLet the waterpipes leadFrom nowhere to somewhere

After you start to do somethingthen it will be haldBe so severe to yourselfLike you are to others.

His opponents challenged the new mayorBrany on his own high moral grounds. He wasto prove that his practice could stand up tohis own standards. In reality, however, the newmayor and his sirpportels seemed strangelydisoriented when they finally obtained power.In the face of the need to take action theirideals seemed to be non-opelational guide-lines. In order to solve day to day problems,that werc most of the time trivial and only rarelyof a fundamental nature, the mayor would haveto step down from his high level of self-righ-teousness and to sit down with his opponentsto negotiate, to achieve compromises andcommon solutions.

Throughout his term of office however thenew mayor continued to inscribe his actionsin terms of opposition and moral expiation.High on his agenda, apart from the r:esistanceagainst the construction of the cement f'ac-tory, was the retrieval of proper-ty formerlyowned by the village and now administratedby the regional authorities. The apple of dis-cord became the manor house of the villase,

u hich had been tranan old people's homhandicapped adulspai,en against the n.-usin-s her of maltrecare and of using drthe maintenance of tnge of befriended ethat the control ortder olved to the e\cllage. The issue carland beyond. uhen isional media. It mohandicapped prrsother suspected himthe handicapped pe<the manor house I\rLrmen $Orking f<mtrstlr from the r.illa:-i he rr'as discredrtr,:an.;ud-ee. after haviF.ken to man\ fE(uons Branr proffen€J-rt lo some e\tenlttrr of the hostel h,rd*le prerious resirn€gronal administrauo.urrund the mancx hFt\of lD the village-.rpprrsing Branl reirxrncil onlr ten moffic-e. thus promptAx er-olo-eical tactic

Branr's term of oil *rrse u ho oppr-rsmrnl r ored him in ae.riership uas des-:dllMN t.)lllfllUDlCaU r e- n

m decisrtrn-makinglelel he had to relrsue tlr become ablsrnFlesr of tlr admie:r$ ,il a clear disad;LInmUnlSt pre{k{re(rirutrrt rrfl e-xcellent,etei .rs he h.al het:r:rmtl In s-olntluni

Frc.u .. Eur.tllq.,zn loc

s as fhnatic,rmmon good.re boald they

so his oppo-$ now up tosults and tolage.

new mayornds. He wasstand up tover, the new:d strangelyined power.lction theirrnal guide-r problems,I only rarelywould have,f self-righ-opponents

'mises and

)wever thehis actionsexplatton.reSlstance:ment fbc-r formerlyrinistratedple of dis-re vil lage,

shich had been fl'ansformed in the 1980s frornen old people's home into a home for mentallyhandicapped adults. Blany launched a cam-pargn against the manager of the hostel ac-cusing her of maltleating thc people under hercare and ofusing the funds at her'disposal forrhe maintenance of the building, to the advan-uge of befriended entrepreneurs. He claimedthat the control over the building should bedevolved to the exclusive authority of the vil-lage. The issue caused outrage in the villageand beyond, when it was published in the re-gional media. It mobilized the parents of thehandicapped persons against the mayor asrhey suspected him of wanting to get rid ofthe handicapped people in the village and usethe manor house for other purposes. The\romen working for the hostel, who weremostly from the village, also stood against him,as he was discrediting their wolk. As far as Ican judge, after having visited the hostel andspoken to many people.about it, the accusa-rions Brany proffered had been motivated atIeast to some extent by the fact that the direc-tor of the hostel had been a communist underthe previous regime and influential in the re-gional administration in Beroun. The scandalaround the manor house caused such an up-roar in the village, that the four councilorsopposing Brany resigned from the vil lagecouncil only ten months after he had takenoffice, thus prompting new elections whichthe ecological fhction lost.r

Brany's term of office has been describedby those who opposed him and by many whohad voted him in as a disaster. His style ofleadership was described as aut"horitarian anduncommunicative. As he was unfarnil iar withthe decision-making processes on the regionallevel he had to rely entirely on Bina and hiswife to become able to cope even with thesimplest of the administrative procedures. Hewas at a clear disadvantage compared to hiscommunist predecessor who had been able tocount on excellent contacts on the regionallevel as he had been serving on the regionalcouncil in communist t imes. Steoan had been

able to use his old networks of influence asthe key positions in the administration wereoccupied to a large extent by persons whohad wolked there during the communist pe-riod. Good personal relations to the adrninis-trators were then and continue to be of clucialimportance in order to obtain l inancial re-sources. undeltake in{l 'astructule plcrjects or'get constfuctlon perTnlts.

Brany, on the contrary, had to most mem-bers of the regional administration a purelyfotmal relationship. He was suffering from whatHerzfeld (1992) would call the social produc-tion of indifference. Administrators would ig-nore him, inform him late and make him passall the procedural obstacles they could possi-bly apply. They showed him that he was anoutsider who was not plzrying by the infor'-mally set rules of establishing l inks that wouldbe of mutual interest.

The social noms that regulate at least to acertain extent the polit ical confrontations onthe local level were controversial in Mokro-vousy in 1994. No expl ic i t or taci t agreernentexisted among the opposing ltactions aboutwhat would have been an appropriate behav-ior for membels of a democratically electedvil lage council. It is the precondition ofa func-tioning democracy, though, that on the onehand the looser of the elections accepts thatthe other party has won and continues to wolknevertheless fbr the community. On the other'hand, the winner takes into account the opin-ions of the rninority that lost the elections,developing a sense of responsibil i ty fol thecommunity as a whole. In Mokrovousy thedebate over diverging polit ical opinions andmatelial interests was outweighed by emotionsof envy and hatred. Aftel thd elections of 1994the two opposing f'actions acted as if thesehad been the last election that were to be heldin the village. The idea of an elected office,that could be gained and lost at the whim olthe majority, had not yet become part of thepolit ical habits. Polit ical power was sri l l seenas a total force not as the result of a communi-cative act (Arendt 1986:62). The public space

Focaal - European JournaL ofAnthropology tto. 39, 2002. pp 29-39 3'7

was thus the home of attacks ad hominem andnot the forum for an engaged exchange of ideasand opinions. This led many vil lagers, whohad been interested and active in the begin-ning of the 1990, to withdraw again from thepublic arena into their private lives observingand commenting on what is going on in thevillage council from afar.

Since 1995 things have calmed down inMokrovousy. Stepan is now vice-mayor andshares with the new mayor the salary that thecouncil pays for this job. The wife of Bina hasbeen laid off and now fights against this deci-sion in the courts. The faction opposed to thecement factory no longer participates in col-lective actions to embellish the village. Theyare organizing instead their own activities, likecleaning once a year the nature protecting aleaclose to the quarry from rubbish. Brany is anelected councilor, but haldly evet goes to thecouncil meetings whereas Bina tries not tomiss a single meeting in order to monitor, ashe says, what is discussed in the vil lage coun-cil. Uncompromising in his polit ical views hegets actively involved outside the democrati-cally elected structures where more radicalpositions get prominence in the media. Hefinds larger networks of supporters on thenational and international level for his envi-ronmental concerns and remains the troublemaker on the local level who tapes the discus-sions on the village council and wages legalbattles even about trivialit ies.

Conclusion

In the open confrontation of two value sys-tems and in the reversal of the relations ofdominance between them lie the loots for theintense emotional outbreaks after 1989. Normsimposed through the consistent and regularconstraints of daily life and social interactioncause persistent fear, and at the same time theyconvey also a feeling of security (Elias 1 976:325 and 447). When the coercive normativesystem changes, this fear transforms itselfinto

38

aggression and insecurity. The humiliationsuffered by the opponents of the communistregime even in aspects of their daily l ives af'-fected the future course of political relationsand loaded them with strong emotions. Thedesire for vengeance for past humiliations andthe settling of accounts made them look for apublic process that would draw a thick linebetween the victim and those accountable forthe injustice and thus reestablish their dignity(Borneman 1997:103). As long as this publicsettling of accounts does not tahe place theundercurrent of hatred remains.

On the other side, the claim of the oppo-nents to the cement factory to have a highermoral standard enraged the communists whohad enjoyed the monopoly of morality andtruth in society for decades. Their ideologicalviewpoints being contested, they made thematerial well-being of the local community theirpoint of moral reference and demonstrated thattheir opponents were unable to care for it andremained outsiders without the means to in-fluence society.

The polrtical debate ad hontinent, reflectsan aspect of the democratization process, thatputs in the forefront feelings of hate and envyand a desire fol vEngeance. Bringing downthe enemy at all costs and by all means thenbecomes an end in itself. The use of anony-mous poems in public space avoids the directconfrontation between persons, but insteadof dissipat ing tensions in publ ic space, i traises them while at the same time preventingan effective exchange of claims and arguments.For a democracy to function eff'ectively, emo-tions and passions do not need to be sup-pressed; rather they should go beyond thelevel of the personal to the plane of generalideas and concepts of the good society. Onlyif different standpoints about society and thecommon good are openly expressed and pas-sionately discussed in public without fear ofpersonal leplisal, be it from public authoritiesor fellow villagers, can a democratic societyflourish.

Note

l . I f more thanfrom the vi l labe cal led.

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Berglund, Eevascience. Cambt

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; emotions. Therumiliations andthem look for a

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community their'3monstrated that.o ctare for it andhe means to in-

minem, reflectson process, thatrfhate and envyBringing downall means then

g use of anony-Lvoids the direct,ns, but insteadublic space, itume pfevenung; and arguments.ffectively, emo-eed to be sup-go beyond thelane of generald society. Onlysociety and theressed and pas-without fear ofrblic authoritiesrocratic society

Note

l - I f more than a third of the counci lors resignfrom the village council, new elections have tobe called.

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FocaaL - European Journal ofAnthropology no. j9,2002. pp.29-39 39