I simply will not support the agreement on the exchange of advice, says Hana Marvanová • RESPECT
Former dissident and political prisoner Hana Marvanová has the image of a fighter against corruption – and with that, people vote for her. The photo, which was published on Thursday by Deníku N reporter Prokop Vodrážka, complicates this rumor. Marvanová is on it in conversation with ANO politician Radmila Kleslova. At the same time, it is Kleslová who is serving as a kind of counterpart to Marvanová in Prague politics: according to preserved archival documents, she worked for State Security (StB).
The mentioned photo looks like a good illustration of the agreement negotiated in the past days and weeks by the Spolu coalition, which also includes Marvanová, with Babiš’s ANO movement, where Kleslová works as a representative. As an illustration of the agreement, people (including the author of this article) also started sharing the photo on social networks.
“It’s a big injustice,” says Marvanová, upset. “I, on the other hand, defend the cooperation agreement between Spolu and ANO and will not vote for the replacement of the city council as part of it.” According to her, the photo does not show an agreement between the two politicians. Kleslová allegedly stopped her in the hallway of the municipality and asked why Marvanová had reservations about her. Then they broke up.
The SPD is still here
The commotion surrounding one photograph is the result of an unusually complicated situation that arose at the Prague municipality after the elections and long political negotiations. After the disagreement with the Pirates, the Spolu coalition, which already consists of the ODS, TOP 09, the People’s Party and the independent Marvanová, turned to ANO and three months after the elections, it is moving towards a coalition with the former government movement. But the problem is that both groups have the majority of a single vote – that of Hana Marvanová.
“I do not agree with the agreement with ANO and I simply will not vote for it,” says Marvanová. The only thing they theoretically agree with is the election of a new mayor, Bohuslav Svoboda. But he will not vote for him yet. By electing only a new mayor and keeping the existing city council, a very confusing political situation arose and it is not clear how the city management would actually work. “It’s not clear to me either,” says Marvanová. For now, therefore, he will not even support the election of Svoboda.
The Spolu coalition now faces further complex negotiations. If Marvanová does not back down and does not support the agreement with ANO, the ODS, TOP 09 and the People’s Party will have to come to an agreement with the SPD, which has three mandates in the parliament. However, cooperation with them will certainly shake the reputation of conservative parties at the national level. If you want to avoid that threat, all you have to do is renew negotiations with the Prague Pirates and present them with a more generous deal than Spolu offered in previous discussions.