Negotiations in Prague have progressed. It will continue next Monday
Leader of the Prague coalition SPOLU (ODS, TOP 09, KDU-ČSL) Bohuslav Svoboda | PHOTO: ČTK / Kateřina Šulová
The Prague coalition Spolu (ODS, TOP 09, KDU-ČSL), Pirátů and STAN will be discussed by working groups in the coming days, which will deal with program questions, the distribution of tasks or the draft coalition agreement. The negotiating teams meet again on Monday next week. The representatives of the parties told journalists after today’s coalition meeting. The Spolu coalition sent potential partners an offer this Monday, according to which the Pirates would get four and STAN two seats in the eleven-member councils, Spolu would have five seats, including the mayor.
The representatives of the parties said after today’s meeting that it was constructive and some issues remain to be resolved, which should be the task of the working groups. These should deal with the details of the division of responsibilities in the council, the creation of new committees, proposals for new legislation beneficial to the city or a draft coalition agreement. With the excuse of Freedom of Politicians, they have not yet indicated who should sit in the council.
Read on
Nový Týdeník FORUM: Pavel and Nerudová represent civilization, Babiš barbarism
read the article »
A possible obstacle to the formation of a coalition could be the Stability Alliance, in which the Pirates pledged to proceed together with Praha Sobě in coalition negotiations last year. Together, however, Prague Sobě rejects participation in the coalition, according to Svoboda, there is no reason for it. “For this, we have to have another separate meeting with Praha Sobě,” commented Jana Komrsková, a member of the Pirates’ negotiating team. The meeting should take place on Wednesday afternoon.
Party representatives will then meet again on Monday to discuss the results of the groups’ meetings, according to STAN leader Petr Hlaváček, further details should be known then. The chairman of the representative club Spolu Zdeněk Zajíček (ODS) stated that the goal is to elect a new leadership of the metropolis for the next continuation of the constitutive meeting of the council, which will be held on February 16.
Negotiations on the new leadership of the capital city lasted almost four months, thus the longest since the creation of the Czech Republic. One of the main points of contention was the Together coalition’s demand to have a majority in the council, which it backed away from on Monday, unblocking the negotiations. Since the elections in the fall of 1994, the longest wait for the election of the new city leadership was a month and a half. In 2010, the council and mayor were elected 45 days after the election, four years later it took a day longer. In 1994 and 1998, the mayors were elected less than two weeks after the elections.
The Spolu offer assumes that the Pirates would occupy the position of first square in the council for transport and councilors for property management, for the environment and for legislation, ICT, Smart City and innovation. STAN would be responsible for territorial development and education along with sports. Spolu representatives in the council would be in charge of managing finances, housing, social affairs and healthcare, issues of infrastructure and city services and culture and tourism. Mayor Svoboda is then in charge of external relations, security and energy and cyber security.
The Spolu coalition won the municipal elections last fall, winning 19 mandates in the 65-member council. ANO ended second with 14 mandates. The third Pirates have 13 representatives and Praha Sobě 11 mandates. Five representatives belong to STAN, the sixth SPD won three mandates.