Hřib: We succeeded in transport, the free market did not solve the availability of housing
What do you think about the last council?
I have been waiting for three months as the outgoing mayor of Prague so that I can hand over the leadership to the winner of the election with dignity. However, the negotiators of the TOGETHER coalition were unable to agree with the democratic parties on a standard coalition, in the end they were not even able to agree with ANO on an opposition contract, and luckily they were not even able to agree among themselves on an illegal power move with the mayor outside the council, when the law clearly states that the mayor is part of the board.
Unsuccessful negotiations about a new mayor
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From the decision Hana Marvanová you must have been happy
I appreciate the principled stance of councilor Kordová Marvanová, who refused to betray the promise that the TOGETHER coalition made to its voters before the elections. It is understandable that, as a political prisoner, she refused to be part of the voting machinery with a former StB agent and that, as a lawyer, she did not want to support a legislative quagmire, which would probably be overturned by the court anyway.
I am interested in the current running of the city council. Was something withdrawn from the council meeting that didn’t need to be withdrawn? For example, the purchase of police uniforms was delayed…
In particular, the uniforms were finally passed, because other committees were also newly established, for example the security committee, which could discuss just these things. For example, the Hardware Lab school project with European money, which supports education in the technological field, is being blocked. In my opinion, completely unnecessary.
How would you behave in this situation?
I hope that we would not get into that situation, we would absorb the fact that the expectations were higher and we would accept the fact that we would not rule the whole city by ourselves. Rumor has it that the biggest problem with TOGETHER is their internal coalition agreement, where the “crooks” are somehow divided and they can’t back down from that. If it were not so, ODS would not have a councilor for investment, someone from STAN would do it. Then it would be a spherical and corresponding election result.
Last election period
During your government, Prague was hit by two major crises. Could anything have been done better?
For example, it was problematic that I failed to convince the government headed by s by Andrej Babiš (YES) AND Jan Hamáček (ČSSD) about canceling the senseless measures regarding “excursions” to the Central Bohemian Region, which were prohibited at the time. But we could not have prepared much better for such a crisis. Even crisis plans prepared just for pandemics or migration crises originally with a much smaller number of infected or refugees.
After the pandemic came the refugee crisis. Why did you publicly push the government so much? Didn’t the situation at the time call for compromise and dialogue behind closed doors?
We mainly wanted and still want a redistribution mechanism for refugees to be created, because even at present we have four times more of them than other regions. If another wave were to follow, which according to government forecasts could be up to half a million people, then Prague unfortunately cannot absorb any more refugees. It’s not just about temporary housing or places in schools. We don’t want to create any ghettos. We appealed for it in mid-March, but unfortunately there is no mechanism here yet. That’s why I had to, as you say, “pressure” the Prime Minister.
In the program statement from 2018, you committed to solving transport and housing. Did you succeed?
In 2021, the construction of a record number of apartments began. So we managed to get things moving, and thanks to exchanges with the city state, I will get more plots of land, on which new residential districts will gradually be created.
But the availability of housing in the metropolis is now the worst in ten years. What did you do to improve the situation?
Unfortunately, the free market will not solve this, this idea has failed. Regulation of Airbnb, for example, can help. They also liked to have the powers that a western metropolis has. In other words, to establish clear rules beyond the framework of old laws that did not take into account digitization.
Your council was mainly blamed for the poor coordination of transport constructions, which caused traffic jams around the city…
In my opinion, we have been very successful in transport, we have a record number of investments, the random construction of metro D, we are building and repairing bridges and roads, the Štavanica and Troja bridges and others. In my opinion, the coordination of the traffic closures was fine, which is illustrated, for example, by the trouble-free repair of the Barrandovský bridge.
How were four years in the role of mayor? And what would you say to your successor?
It was fast, also thanks to two unprecedented global crises, which I believe we have come through with honor. If he succeeds me Bohuslav Svoboda (TOGETHER)so I would like him, above all, that it does not turn out to be such a disaster as during his previous government, when there were two changes of coalitions and the city lost billions from European funds.