Ostrava City Center Mayor Leaves ANO for the Motorists Party
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Petr Veselka, mayor of the Moravská Ostrava-Přívoz district, has left the ANO movement after 12 years and joined the ranks of the Motorists (Motoristé sobě) party. According to Veselka, the move came after the local party branch decided to end its cooperation with him.
He admitted the decision wasn't easy, but said he respects it as part of democratic political life. The 63-year-old mayor stressed that he doesn't consider himself too old to keep contributing to Ostrava's city center and the city as a whole. "I still enjoy working for our city, it's meaningful to me, and I want to continue," he said.
A New Team for the City Center
That's why Veselka met with the leadership and members of the Motorists' local branch in Ostrava's city center. "After several candid conversations, I became convinced that our cooperation could work and that we share a genuine desire to work for Ostrava substantively, with dignity and respect for the people who live here," explained the politician, who has lived in Ostrava's center for more than thirty years, about his departure from ANO.
Richard Vereš, head of ANO's Ostrava branch and the party's candidate for mayor, explained that a new team simply got its chance in the city center. He noted that ANO's candidate lists are built "from the ground up," with local branches deciding their own composition. "Colleagues in Moravská Ostrava had voiced concerns about our representatives on the district council for some time. So they decided to make a change, and a new team got its opportunity," Vereš said.
Jiří Till, who already serves as a district council member, now leads ANO's candidate list for Ostrava's city center. Vereš confirmed that Veselka's departure from ANO was entirely his own decision and that the parting was amicable, wishing the former mayor well in his new political camp.
Veselka himself stressed that he doesn't want to frame the situation as mutual accusations or attacks. "I left on my own because I still have the desire to work for the district and the city," the politician summed up, noting that after 12 years in one movement, a situation arose that he had to respond to one way or another.
Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz
