ANO Candidate Proposes Limiting Alcohol Sales in Prague After 10 PM

Jan Husbauer, leader of the ANO party's Prague list, has proposed restricting alcohol sales in the capital: after ten in the evening, spirits and beer would only be available in bars and restaurants — not in shops and kiosks. According to him, the measure would protect public spaces from noise and drunken gatherings. Husbauer floated the idea during pre-election debates on the Novinky news portal.

The proposal drew sharp criticism from ANO's coalition partner, Motoristé. Boris Šťastný, Minister of Sport, Prevention and Healthcare, wrote on X: "So you won't even be able to buy a beer on your way home from work? Sensible people, vote for Motoristé!!! We will never, ever, ever allow this." He added that Prague has already suffered enough under its current leadership and called for an end to "senseless left-wing progressive bans that ruin the lives of ordinary people."

A war of words between the politicians

Šťastný also argued that anyone determined to drink in the evening would simply find a way around the ban, and that instead of imposing restrictions, city police should focus on real breaches of public order — rather than "towing cars over a rocket sticker or fining people over their shoes."

Husbauer fired back, reminding his opponent of the 2017 ban on smoking in restaurants, introduced under Bohuslav Sobotka's government — an idea Šťastný himself had long championed as an ODS lawmaker. "Nobody's taking away your beer after work at a bar. Not even after ten. But a bottle from a late-night shop in a park at midnight is an entirely different matter," the ANO candidate noted.

The minister countered that the two situations weren't comparable: the smoking ban, he said, was primarily meant to protect hospitality staff from exposure to more than 60 carcinogens found in secondhand smoke, whereas he described Husbauer's proposal as "an attempt at partial prohibition." In response, Husbauer clarified that the measure wasn't about banning alcohol in bars and restaurants after ten — it specifically targets late-night convenience stores. "Cheap alcohol from night shops is one of the main sources of noise, disorderly conduct, and drunkenness on our streets," he concluded.

Motoristé has fought similar ideas before

Klára Sovová, Motoristé's candidate for Prague mayor, also spoke out against the initiative. On her Facebook page, she called the proposal "pure madness" and vowed that if her party has a say on the city council, such a measure would go "straight into the freezer." According to her, Prague doesn't need new bans or "re-education of grown adults."

This isn't the first clash between ANO and Motoristé over alcohol regulation. Previously, Health Minister Adam Vojtěch (ANO) had entertained discussion of similar measures, after former government anti-drug coordinator Pavel Bém proposed banning alcohol sales after 9 PM to curb risky drinking habits among Czechs. Šťastný was again the fiercest opponent of that idea too, declaring he would rather "bite off a limb" or go on a hunger strike than let it happen.

Earlier this summer, Šťastný was similarly harsh in his criticism of the so-called "sobriety law" — an initiative from the opposition STAN party to restrict alcohol within parliament's own walls. The proposal failed, backed by only 47 of the 131 lawmakers present when it came to a vote in early July.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz

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