Motoristé Sobě Team Up with Freedom Party, SPD and Tricolor for Local Elections

The Motoristé sobě party, which entered the Czech parliament under the banner of "keeping an eye on Babiš," has chosen an unexpected strategy for the upcoming municipal elections: in nine major cities, including Prague, Brno, Ostrava and Plzeň, the party is running its own candidate lists, while in nine other municipalities it is joining forces with parties from the right-wing and anti-establishment camp.

According to an analysis of the emerging electoral alliances, it is precisely these coalitions that have drawn the most attention from observers. In five cases, Motoristé will run alongside the Freedom Party (Svobodní) — a party that once championed economic libertarianism but has since drifted toward culture-war rhetoric, anti-vaccine theories and sympathy for Russian energy supplies. After years of political stagnation, the Svobodní only made it into parliament thanks to a coalition with the SPD, and then lost one of their two mandates just weeks after the election when a deputy resigned.

Alliances Take Shape in Northern Bohemia

In Ústí nad Labem, Motoristé appears set to team up with the local SPD branch, backed by Tricolor and the Přísaha party — despite the fierce hostility between the national leaderships of Motoristé and Přísaha. A similar picture is emerging in Most, where a joint SPD–Motoristé ticket will receive support from Tricolor.

In Chomutov, Motoristé is part of the "Chomutov sdzé" bloc together with the SPD and politician Jindřich Rajchl's PRO movement. A comparable coalition, dubbed "A Big Cross for Hradec," has formed in Jindřichův Hradec, bringing together Motoristé, the SPD, Tricolor, Svobodní and PRO. In Hradec Králové, the party will run together with the SPD and Tricolor.

Where the Party's Political Compass Is Pointing

Leaders of the smallest party in the ruling coalition insist that ideology takes a back seat at the local level, with personal connections and candidate recognition playing the decisive role. Yet in Přerov, the campaign slogan for the Svobodní–Motoristé coalition is "Right, only right!" — hardly a sign of abandoning ideological positioning.

Some of the voters who backed Motoristé in the last election were looking for a party of "genuine conservatives." Judging by its choice of coalition partners, the party itself now seems to locate that "right-wing" identity in conspiracy theories, hardline anti-migration and anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, and a broadly anti-establishment stance. Whether the party manages to secure a lasting foothold in this part of the political spectrum remains to be seen — but it does stand a real chance of picking up a handful of mandates at the local level.

Read also: Brno: what to see and where to go

Source: seznamzpravy.cz