AWhen the requiem for the late Czech politician Karel Schwarzenberg was held in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral on Saturday afternoon, it almost seemed as if a king or president was being bid farewell. Five current heads of state appeared, the Archbishop of Prague celebrated the solemn service together with a dozen other church dignitaries, hundreds of guests took part in the cathedral, hundreds more crowded outside in front of screens, television broadcasting.
Soldiers in dress uniform carried the coffin out, two medal cushions in front. Thousands of people had already paid their respects to the deceased at the coffin laid out in a Prague church last week.
Schwarzenberg, who died on November 12th at the age of 85, was not particularly outstanding if you look at his positions alone. He was foreign minister for a total of about five years, a member of parliament and senator, and an official in the presidential office. As a candidate for the office of president, he lost respectably but clearly to Miloš Zeman by 45 percent in 2013.
A long family tradition
But honor and sympathy show that there was something else that could hardly be contained in a Wikipedia entry. This can be done more easily using the funeral sermon, speeches and obituaries.
Of course, it came up in every speech: As Prince Karl zu Schwarzenberg, he could look back on a long family tradition. The Princes of Schwarzenberg are among the most important still flourishing aristocratic houses in Bohemia; they provided church princes, generals, officials and diplomats and had rich land holdings.
But since the end of the monarchy, nobility was frowned upon in Czechoslovakia, even more so than in other new republics in Europe. This was especially true during the communist era. And after the Velvet Revolution that didn't change suddenly. The restitution of families not covered by the Beneš decrees was widely viewed with suspicion. In Schwarzenberg's case, although he was defensive about his claims, this may have contributed to his defeat against Zeman, who played the displaced card.
Paying respects to the dead: former Czech President Miloš Zeman
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Image: Reuters
But now, for example, the newspaper “Lidové Noviny” read that it was thanks to Schwarzenberg that the image of the aristocracy in the Czech Republic had changed: their members were no longer viewed as enemies, but rather as people with responsibility to their predecessors and descendants and wanted to pass on their property in good condition. This is how governments should act.
“A discreet inspirer”
Perhaps, beyond rational attributions, it is also a need for tradition and form that may make Schwarzenberg more popular in memory than he actually was during his active times, when he usually worked more in the background. Before the Velvet Revolution, he traveled behind the Iron Curtain and made contacts with dissidents.
He set up an archive of samizdat literature in his Franconian castle. Last but not least, he worked with Václav Havel, who then brought him into the presidential administration as “Chancellor” as president of the liberated country. In this role and later as a politician he was called “Karel Schwarzenberg”.
In his sermon on Saturday, priest Tomás Halik called him an “educator” of the Czech nation and society. “He was not a pompous mentor, but a discreet inspirer who educated primarily through his example.” He recalled the words of the former German constitutional judge Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, according to which democracy depends on conditions that it cannot create itself. Schwarzenberg helped create this.
The theologian did not hold back from a swipe at “populists, demagogues and chauvinists”. He expressly referred to people whom Schwarzenberg was very critical of, Vladimir Putin, but also Viktor Orbán. As a politician, Schwarzenberg never hesitated to use a “sweet word,” “but there was never any meanness in it.” Perhaps that is why Miloš Zeman was among the guests in St. Vitus Cathedral.
Cheerful remembrance is mixed with tears
The incumbent Czech President Petr Pavel gave a speech that he announced not as a eulogy but as a eulogy. “Karel Schwarzenberg did not do what would please this country and its citizens, but rather what was good for them. He didn't say anything to please, but above all he was careful to always be on the right side, even when it wasn't popular. We will miss this kind of political honesty,” said Pavel.
At the end – the deceased had specifically requested this – the Czechoslovak anthem was sung, a combination of hymns from both parts of the former state. Pavel and Slovakian President Zuzana Čaputová, who were there alongside the reigning monarchs of Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Monaco, also sang.
Later, and this is also part of Schwarzenberg, more modern rhythms were heard. In the Lucerna club, old dissidents and young fans mixed cheerful remembrance with tears well into the night.
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