Partly cloudy

Pirates leading in Prague poll
The municipal elections may see a big change in City Hall
The Czech Pirates say they hope to win the municipal elections in Prague. One poll shows them in the lead, but far from an outright majority so they would need to find coalition partners to form a city government. They also hope to succeed in other regional cities.
The municipal elections will take place Oct. 5–6, and expats from other EU countries who have residence can vote if they ask at their local administrative office in advance to be included on the voter rolls.
Pirates lead in a pre-election opinion poll by Kantar TNS for Czech Television conducted between Aug. 4 and 26. If the elections were held now, the Pirates in Prague would have 21.5 percent of the vote in Prague, while the ANO, which currently hold the mayoral post, would have 14 percent. The right-wing Civic Democrats (ODS) and Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) both have 13 percent, followed by center-right TOP 09 at 10.5 percent, centrist Mayors and Independents (STAN) at 9 percent, the Communists (KSČM) at 6.5 percent, and the centrist Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) at 5.5 percent. The left-wing Social Democrats (ČSSD), once a key party, has just 2.5 percent.
The Pirates promise an open administration, affordable housing, transparent decision making, citizen involvement in city management and ending political patronage.
The Pirates’ campaign slogan is: We will stay the course, but
Pirate party leader Ivan Bartoš announced his intentions at the start of the campaign. “We really have the ambition to win the elections in Prague. According to recent surveys, Pirates are clear favorites,” Bartoš said, according to media reports.
“In every city where we create a candidate, it is a success for us not only to do better than we had in the past municipal elections but to do better than we did in the last elections to the Chamber of Deputies,” Bartoš said. Pirates have 3,000 candidates in 165 cities and municipalities in this year's local elections.
The Pirates say they will want to work with parties primarily on the basis of program priorities, but also on political integrity. Bartoš said it will be difficult to agree with the KSČM and SPD because they are involved in the “decomposition of liberal democracy in the Czech Republic.”
Virtually all Pirate leaders in regional cities promised to end the patronage ties to politicians. Bartoš gave examples of several politicians who are also involved in business, and who
Local leaders also have individual goals. Prague Pirate leader Zdeněk Hřib has promised to plant 1 million trees in the capital to protect against heat.
The same Kantar TNS showed the Pirates would be less successful in the upcoming Senate elections, with 15 percent, compared to 28 percent for ANO.
Related articles
-
Lime Electric Scooters To Get The Boot From Prague 1 by Shaun O'Banion
There’s a very vocal category of people in Prague who hate seeing those Lime Scooters littering the street… and hate those who ride them even more. Well, for those of you in that category who live or work in the area of Prague 1, good news: City Hall has now banned the scooters in pedestrian zones which is another way of saying, pretty much everywhere in Prague 1.
-
Tesla Sells 1,000,000 Electric Cars and Officially Opens in The Czech Republic. by Shaun O'Banion
When Elon Musk first announced his entry into the automotive space, many people shrugged. Why would the tech billionaire want to get involved with a car company?
-
FOREIGNERS AND PRAGUE.TV EXPATS MONTHLY MEETUP: TONIGHT! by Kseniia Zhuikova
The Legendary Foreigners and Prague.tv Monthly MeetUp is on TONIGHT
-
Prague Building in Karlin tops Europe's most Sustainable by Petra Machartová
The Praga Studios complex in Karlín has become the second greenest office building in Europe.
-
Foreigners and Prague.tv Monthly Expat MeetUp by Huyen Vu
The Legendary Foreigners and Prague.tv Monthly MeetUp is on the 17th of October
-
Brexit: What UK Citizen Living in the Czech Republic Should Do Now? by Huyen Vu, Foreingers
An upcoming seminar about how to handle the fallout of Brexit.
-
Longtime Prague Expat bags £30K Mercedes in Competition by Nathan Rowden
The Unbelievable come true!
-
Foreigners and Prague.tv Monthly Expat MeetUp by Huyen Vu
The Legendary Foreigners.cz and Prague.tv Monthly MeetUp is on this Thursday
-
Prague.tv and Foreigners.cz Expat Meet-up by Foreigners, Prague TV
This month's get together for expats organized by Foreigners Prague and Prague TV is set to happen on Thursday, July 18th. Come to share experiences, practice Czech, drink beer and have fun!
-
Czechs mark 15 years in EU by Raymond Johnston - Prague.TV (Foto: fotolia)
The country was one 10 to join the bloc on May 1, 2004
Facebook comments
Enjoy Prague from a different view
Best Irish Pub in Prague
Authentic Italian cuisine in Prague
We help you to master Czech bureaucracy.
Writing and Editing service in Prague
A Hub for co-working and events, with a Heart and Soul
Making your business and life easier

Prague’s # 1 source for Czech news in English…
.png)
Digital lifestyle magazine platform promoting life in Prague.