Jan Antonín Duchoslav: Mushroom? I have a feeling that the boy still lives in Slavičín
photo: archival editorial office/Jan Antonín Duchoslav
INTERVIEW Probably everyone knows him from the movie Snow White and the Moss. A long time ago. Jan Antonín Duchoslav matured and decided to try a political career. You can vote for him on the Prague candidate list without chaos. PrahaIN.cz interviewed her exclusively on the given topic. About culture another time…
Why politics, why Prague without chaos?
I thought about it for a long time. The idea needed to mature. It was accelerated by some solutions that are being implemented in Prague by Mayor Hřib and the entire leftist-pirate city. In addition, there was an offer to run for office from the Prague without Chaos movement, whose program theses I quite identify with. Moreover, it came directly from the leader Jaroslav Ďuriš, whom I know both at work and personally and I respect him very much.
How did the family react to it?
They accepted it as fact and I have their support.
Are you a candidate for the Prague council and in Prague 6, what are your electoral ambitions?
Victory, of course! No, be realistic. We are a newly formed movement and we cannot lie to ourselves that we will win across the board in the first election period. There is no doubt that we have decent prospects. Especially after what the coalition in the municipality and the leadership on the six are showing in Prague. We have capable people in the team, many experts and experienced municipal politicians. Now it is up to us, if we succeed, to show our fellow citizens that
we stand at the helm.
What about post-election cooperation?
It is premature and I think tactless to say now. Communal politics is not so much
about ideologies, and in parties that I have a problem with in national politics, you can find people. Of course, it is also necessary to consider their motivation to run for this or that party, so that in the end they do not turn out to be omnipotent spineless profiteers. Those who are unacceptable to me are communists. Moreover, the average age of their candidates suggests that they will not have an understanding of the changes and “futuristic” solutions that Prague needs.
One of your topics is transportation. Mayor Hřib receives a lot of criticism precisely because of traffic in the capital, even from President Zeman. How do you feel about it?
I have a feeling that the boy still lives in Slavičín. At least with his understanding of Prague’s problems, and not only traffic problems. If he can give me an argument for parallel cycle lanes and cycle paths (e.g. behind the Vyšehrad Tunnel) or the roundabout and the two-way opening of Hybernská Street with something other than the fact that there will be a Lidl in the Municipal House, I apologize for this criticism. It is easy to send a group of painters to the streets to paint lanes for cyclists. It is already more difficult to think about where to lead cycle routes outside the main roads. Does any cyclist want to ride on Evropska, Ječná next to a continuous row of cars? They do not talk about the construction of parking garages near transport hubs. That would be the end of the job! So he will inaugurate the construction of the D subway, which the city has been preparing long before his arrival, and he feels fulfilled. It isn’t.
Preference in Prague, August 2022
Source: Phoenix Research
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The energy crisis makes wrinkles on the foreheads not only of households and companies, but also of town halls. How is Prague 6?
I’ll admit that I don’t have specific information yet, but I’m not under any illusions. The Six will probably be forced to delay some investments, maybe put some in a drawer. I don’t believe in quick and easy solutions. However, I offer savings. I don’t understand why the city hall, for example, didn’t start a gradual transition to “smart” public lighting with solar energy sources years ago. In the same way, I do not understand why the huge energy potential of this treatment plant was not immediately thought of during the construction of the sewage treatment plant in Bubenč. I know that this criticism concerns more the Magistrate, but even Šestka had something to say and should have taken the initiative in this case. Getting energy from waste is nothing groundbreaking and new. Both heat pumps and biogas stations can now be built and operated with economic profit.
The big unknown is energy prices, which city leaders have to project into the budget being prepared for next year. Isn’t Prague 6 in danger of having to limit some investments due to rising prices?
I basically answered this question in the answer. I might add that it is possible. We need to set our priorities straight. We simply cannot turn off schools, kindergartens, hospitals and other facilities operated by the city district, or streets. How to reduce other mandatory expenses will also be extremely important. The maintenance and necessary repairs of municipal property cannot be neglected either. This would cost us more in the future. After all, the communists have already demonstrated this to us in a sufficiently vivid way during almost fifty years of government in the republic. From the fact that, in addition to operational savings, it will probably be necessary to reconsider the priority of the city district and at least postpone some investment plans. Unfortunately, rebuilding the district’s energy infrastructure into a modern and more economical one will not happen immediately and it will cost a lot. The same in pale blue, of course, applies to great Prague.