People of all nationalities are critical of their country, but Czech people take this to a whole new level. Barely a day passes without a Czech asking me: “Why on earth do you choose to live in this shit Republic?” I’d almost stopped noticing this aspect of the Czech mentality until Covid arrived. Now every Czech I meet tells me: “You know why our Covid statistics are so bad? Czechs are useless and don’t obey the rules.”

Much like an abusive spouse feeding off a partner’s self-esteem issues, Czech politicians blame Czech people for the situation. “This is all your fault! We’ve tried everything but you don’t listen. We have no idea what to do anymore.”

British people have been equally bad at keeping to the rules. I’ve heard stories of paramedics collecting Covid victims from house parties, seen photos of tourists flocking to hotspots, and many English friends have broken the rules for all manner of self-serving reasons. You only have to glance at the headlines to realise rule breaking is the norm all over Europe. But when I remind Czechs of this, most bat away the idea that people are the same everywhere and continue to list reasons why the ‘stupid Czechs’ are the worst.

British people also complain about their country – shitty weather, selfish politicians, idiocy of the people in general – but deep down there remain apsects they are proud of. This sense of pride is missing in the Czech Republic: the people and the place seem allergic to it. When I tell Czechs there are many positive things about their country (health system, work-life balance, etc), most cross their arms and refuse to acknowledge it.

In the same way a lack of self-esteem bleeds into all areas of a person’s life, this lack of pride bleeds into every corner of Czech society. Ultimately it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. How can the Czech Republic encourage foreign business when the Czech mentality is: “Why would foreign companies want to cooperate with us?”

I know it’s cheeky – a foreigner implying the Czech nation needs mass therapy – but Czechs have many things to be proud of. If the country releases itself from the prison of its negative self-image the opportunities are huge. But the only way this psychological revolution can happen is from deep within – and the first step is to vote for leaders who inspire people to be proud of themselves, rather than weaponising the dysfunctions of the Czech mentality to beat them down.