A resident of Prague must not feel like a host in his city, but on the contrary, a host, says Gebauer
14/09/2022 10:07 | Conversation
“Hysterical covidism and a completely amateurish failure to handle the influx of migrants prove that Prague’s leadership is bad,” Martin Gebauer from Trikolora, who issued a report card with four minus marks to the outgoing Prague leadership, looks back on the last four years in the capital. “What STAN showed us is perhaps even worse than the legendary nineties. We have never had a political party in which the majority of its high officials are involved in a corruption scandal. They prefer not to find out yet how much the new stops will cost Prague and where the carp have probably arrived,” says Gebauer, according to whom the city should primarily serve its residents.
In just a few days, the current leadership of the capital city of Prague ends. What certificate would you present to Mayor Zdenek Hřib and his team?
For me, the current leadership of the capital city of Prague would get four minuses. The only good thing that can be attributed to them is that they did not make public transport more expensive. Otherwise, it’s been a hellish four years.
When you look back over the last four years, what do you think has improved in Prague and what, on the other hand, has been the opposite over the years?
I am looking in vain for any improvement. The mayor likes to brag about the start of the construction of metro line D. But that cannot be considered his success. He only brought to completion what had already been planned and prepared long before his arrival. This is definitely a situation in Prague for motorists, but also for pedestrians. Violent enforcement of cycling at the expense of other road users is a big problem. The completely pointless repainting of cycle lanes in places that are not equipped for this purpose is irresponsible and ultimately dangerous. “Slalom courses” – bollard markings of lanes for motorists, and other restrictions that prevent passing through the city are just another problem created by the current management of the city hall. Not to mention the absolutely insane infestation of the metropolis with shared scooters. Hysterical covidism and the completely amateurish failure to handle the influx of migrants testify to the fact that the leadership of Prague is bad. Renaming streets will certainly not help anyone. It is just another of the steps taken by Prague City Hall to interfere in foreign policy, which is definitely not the task of the regions. Moreover, they do not consider the foreign activities of the current leadership of Prague to be happy.
The current leadership of Prague is linked to the latest corruption case known as the Dosimeter. How do you think this case will affect the municipal elections in the capital?
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I hope fundamentally. What STAN showed us is perhaps even worse than the legendary nineties. We have never had a political party in which the majority of its high officials are involved in a corruption scandal. It is surprising to me that the Austrian minister is still the minister of the interior. I cringe at what will come to the surface. So that the planned subway route D does not cost us more than the tunnel under the English Channel. They prefer not to find out yet how much the new stops will cost Prague and where the carp have probably arrived.
It seems as if Dopravní podnik Praha has attracted one corruption case after another. What do you think is the biggest problem? Is it even possible to completely prevent corruption in such a large organization?
Corruption is about people. About the people “below” and especially those “above”. It doesn’t matter the size of the organization. If the leadership is “clean”, it will set up such procedural procedures and control mechanisms that significantly limit the possibilities of corruption. Here the leadership of Prague failed fatally. Every reasonable business owner knows how important the selection of employees is. Choose the right ones. Experts for the given activity and pay them well. Motivate them to work. Explain clearly and comprehensibly that corruption is not and will not be tolerated. The same applies to administrative and supervisory boards. Political newsagents don’t have that. Places in them are to be filled by a selection procedure, in which emphasis will be placed on the professional and morally free offer of the applicant.
Prague, like other big cities, is dealing with traffic and parking problems. With what attitude to this topic do the Tricolor representatives enter the municipal elections?
Finally, the city ring road and its radials need to be completed. Furthermore, we consider it necessary to conduct an audit of the usefulness of the bus and cycle lanes. Subsequently, the results of the audit should be submitted to a professional comment procedure. From the point of view of an active motorist, there are suddenly too many cycle lanes. We also consider it appropriate to look at the location, use and safety of some pedestrian crossings.
Parking is a separate chapter. The city should primarily serve its residents. A resident of Prague must not feel like a host in his city, but rather a host. So catchment parking lots for non-Prague residents are a clear thing. The parking permit system needs to be overhauled for the people of Prague. First of all, I have to be able to park residents near the place of residence. It is not possible for the parking spaces to be permanently occupied by company vehicles. We support the establishment of a unified parking zone in the central part of Prague. We also support free parking hours for visitors. The current practice that harms business owners who have to pay for parking at their clients must also end.
Photogallery: – Fialenko, go to hell!
An equally pressing problem is the rising property prices, which fundamentally worsen the availability of housing, affecting young families in particular. If Trikolora is successful in the municipal elections, what do you want to change in this area?
Apartments and rentals in Prague have become unbearably expensive. The city must respond to this alarming situation with a large-scale renovation of previously unused city apartments with regulated and affordable rent. City apartments will be transparently allocated to young and socially needy citizens of Prague through a public lottery. Ten percent of the available housing units will be modified so that they can be fully used by persons with disabilities. Municipal plots for residential development will be offered preferentially to housing cooperatives, not to land speculators. We will then allow housing cooperatives to make long-term installments of the land. We will protect cooperative apartments from being bought out by speculators.
The competence of the local self-government also includes the areas of kindergartens and elementary schools. How does Prague stand in this respect and what changes would you like to promote?
Prague is the founder of kindergartens, elementary schools, but also secondary schools. It must therefore ensure a sufficient offer in the field of pre-school care, youth education, primary and secondary education. We will adjust the capacity of the schools and their educational offer on the basis of an analysis of demographic development and traffic gradient. We will secure capacity in advance for residents of Prague. Half of the membership fee to the sports section or club will be paid to each child. Parents of children between the ages of 6 and 15 will receive a contribution of CZK 5,000 to cover the costs of after-school clubs, entitlements for employed families with income up to CZK 100,000 gross per month. We will ensure the central purchase of school supplies for pupils in the first grade of primary schools, which will help socially needy families, and we will promote the conceptual programming of schools and the central purchase of ICT technologies so that pupils in the second grade of primary schools have tablets available as a standard part of their education.
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author: Karel Excellent