Road rage politics are winning over young men in Europe

Reasons include a broader sense of gender grievance and status decline amplified by social media.

- Lionel Laurent

A recent campaign video for the Czech Motorists Party opens in an auto-repair shop.

A female driver throws her keys to a ripped, square-jawed mechanic, who summons his team with a nod. Sparks fly, carburettors change hands and a rock groove kicks in as the head grease monkey — played by car enthusiast and party figurehead Filip Turek — ticks off the party’s priorities: no to the Green Deal, yes to supporting the car industry.

Cheesy? Sure. Macho? Undoubtedly. And yet the Motorists are on the brink of power in Prague as part of a likely coalition government led by billionaire Andrej Babis, whose victory in last week’s elections was driven by anger against over-regulation, inflation and the energy transition.

While the Motorists’ 13 seats would make them a junior partner to Mr Babis’ 80 and the far-right SDP’s 20, that’s no mean feat considering the party didn’t exist until three years ago, when it formed as a local movement against the spread of cycle paths in Prague.