We are not a mafia coalition, said the new mayor of Prague 1, Petr Hejma
Why did you nod that you would be the new mayor of Prague 1?
Because I am the leader We live here, which is a group that includes the parties STAN, the People’s Party, the Citizens’ Initiative and recently TOP 09, and as their leader I have held the second highest position in the city leadership, and that is the first deputy mayor. The moment the city management collapsed, I was ready to take responsibility from the highest position.
An open letter from the former councilor for property David Bodeček (Pirates) was the first to contribute to the disintegration of the coalition, with reprimands. You accepted them as your own and, based on his rebuke, you began to break down the coalition.
Not to cut down, but to blame various things.
Why couldn’t you clarify it together within the coalition?
We had a conciliation procedure of more than three weeks, during which no conclusion was reached and there was zero self-reflection. The office is in a catastrophic state.
What exactly do you think is wrong there?
It is in personnel breakdown, there are undersized states. Many capable people have left the office.
Is the former mayor Pavel Čižinský (Prague 1 himself) responsible for this today?
So what do you think he did wrong?
He pulled a lot of people into a so-called parallel structure. There were a lot of advisers and pseudo-advisers scattering around the office to bark at standard officials.
How would it help him learn this way to officials who have many years of experience?
He approached them from a position of absolute distrust, and his idea was that he would drive them all away.
Wasn’t it in place after the former mayor Oldřich Lomecký (TOP 09) worked there, behind which a number of doubts and criminal reports remained?
I think it was Mr Lomecký’s work as a politician, but the office is full of very capable and loyal officials, and that has no bearing on that. The office has to oversee the routine of the town hall and the politician brings a political agenda.
So you think that the political and the professional component did not cooperate with each other at all?
At all. There was complete non-cooperation and zero communication.
You have formed a new coalition, including the YES movement. However, your national leadership refuses with him, mainly because of Prime Minister Andreja Babiš. How did you explain this to your management?
In communal politics, it is always about specific people, not about party affiliation. You have to start from who these people elect to the council. Even the Pirates and Prague 1 tried to pull YES to their side and cooperate with them.
Mayor of Prague 1 Petr Hejma (STAN)
Photo: Michal Kamaryt, CTK
Does it even matter that you have former councilor Adriana Krnáčová, Karel Grabein Procházka, in your new line?
It was Mr. Procházka who, on the other hand, assured us that he was in some opposition to the YES leadership, because he was removed from the candidate for the election by Andrej Babiš. m of Prague. In this respect, all must be those who agree with the YES policy. For me, I have no problem cooperating with YES here.
Mr. Bodeček partially evaluated the functioning of the former coalition as a fight between two roosters in one dump. So isn’t it just your personal effort to defeat Pavel Čižinský and gain power?
Certainly not. I already had a chain around my neck, I have a photo with the Pope and the Dalai Lama, and at home they cursed me for this decision. As an unreleased first person, I could have had a much simpler life, but I couldn’t see how useless the office was.
So you are such a savior of Prague 1?
I don’t want to style myself as a savior, but I think I’m the one who made a sensible decision and has a lot of support from the people of City Hall. They begged me daily to end the situation that is there now.
At the press conference, you said that they would now have to work at 200 percent. Did they promise you that and do you have it written somewhere?
I haven’t written it, but they promised me and I believe them.
That means you should work maybe 400 percent
I’ll have to. Unfortunately, I appreciate that.
If you work at 400 percent, will you get a 4x higher salary?
I certainly won’t. I do business and I have to manage it in a managerial way.
You have talked about transparency and this is also one of the main priorities of your coalition agreement. Publish your salaries and bonuses?
It’s given by law and I think it should be. I haven’t talked to my colleagues about it yet, but I don’t have a problem with that.
I blame you for your coalition’s return to the old order. What will you do to ensure that the old order does not return to the town hall?
It is also necessary to read the self-reflective statement from both the ODS and TOP 09 that they define themselves and guarantee the purity of negotiations towards the old rules, and I believe. We are not successors of any mafia structures. None of us need it. We are relatively well saturated from our civilian jobs, so no one goes there for the money.
But you did not choose a completely fair approach. You signed the coalition agreement before the council meeting. Wasn’t that an attempt to bypass former mayor Pavel Čižinský?
We ended the conciliation procedure and last week we said there was no going. It’s like a marriage and we just thought we were getting a divorce.