Václav Láska: The Mayor of Prague 5 is in obvious conflict of interest
The senator informed about the disputed lease agreement on Facebook, where he published an open letter: “I consider this situation to be a clear conflict of interestwhen as mayor and executive you represent both the landlord and the tenant“Writes Love.
He points out that each of the parties has a completely different goal. As the owner of the school, she is interested in making as much money as possible, and as a mayor she should aim to ensure sufficient capacity for the accessible education of the inhabitants of Prague 5. This was also read by the former deputy mayor of Priečinská. The city district rents a building to the school, which according to it could be, for example, a primary school, which there is a shortage in the city district.
Mayor Zajíčková sees this as a form of political struggle, given that the ODS has deployed its own candidate against Love in the autumn Senate elections. She also regrets that the letter appeared on the Internet before a possible face-to-face meeting. “Of course I like to meet the senator and I will explain the whole situation regarding the rented building of the former Plzeňská primary school to him“He says.
Conflicts of interest block everything
According to Priečinská, the solution would be, for example, to resign from a private school, which would free up capacity. At the same time, the former deputy mayor pointed out that all city districts were doing this, as providing basic education should be a priority.“However, such a possibility is blocked by the mayor’s conflict of interest and the fact that the lease was agreed in 2013 under completely non-standard and unusual conditions, “says Priečinská.
Václav Láska also says that, in his legal opinion, there are several things in the contract that are contrary to good morals, such as raising rents for inflation. “You as the landlord’s representative, so you can and at the same time do not have to demand an annual increase from the tenant, his representative is you again,” the mayor writes.
Almost like Babiš
The former deputy mayor did not hesitate to compare the mayor’s conflict of interest to the case of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s alleged conflict of interest. “Instead of explaining her conflict of interest credibly to the council, she put herself in the position of the victim she is attacking. It is the same way of defense and the same distraction that Prime Minister Babiš has been using for years, “He says. She also pointed out that it was the ODS, which now ruled in Prague 5, among others, that sharply criticized Babiš and should not have overlooked such a thing in its ranks.
Everyone knew that, the mayor defended
The mayor has already defended herself by saying that her former conflict of interest was known and people chose her because she was not only a teacher but also an businesswoman, not a politician. “I perceive it as a position like this human and I want to keep my perspective, not to engage in intrigue and behind-the-scenes games, and I choose openness,” she replied to the criticism.
When she used to become deputy mayor for education and later also mayor, she said she spoke publicly about her conflict of interest and announced that if she had to decide on matters related to her grammar school, she would abstain. She also admitted that if the deputies decided that they needed the grammar school building, then it will not prevent the lease from its school from being terminated.
She also added to the case that she signed a contract with the city district in 2013, when she was not yet active in politics. “I consider the contract to be standardwith all the requisites that correspond to the usual contractual arrangements, “she added.
Mayor of Prague 5 Renáta Zajíčková
Author: Jiří Marek