Czechoslovakian leader Alexander Dubcek wanted to reinvigorate the Czech people's support for the socialist program of the country.
The program Dubcek introduced allowed for greater participation by the people in local and national politics, relaxed some of the restrictions on the press, and emphasized individual initiative. It did not, however, intend to reduced the authority of the Communist Party, or turn Czechoslovakia into a democratic country, or shift toward capitalism as an economic strategy. It was mostly just a softening of the communist agenda and an attempt to rally people behind the government. Things took on a life of their own, though, and led to the "Prague Spring" movement -- which was then put down heavy-handedly by the Soviet Union, the dominant Communist power that presided over the Eastern European communist countries.