Czech elections: the campaign is about Prague’s money and taxes

The main theme of the current election campaign in Czechia is not a set of grand programmes but a dispute over the money of big cities. The governing ANO movement has pushed to the centre of the agenda a complaint that the mayors of large cities are needlessly “sitting” on municipal money. In Thursday’s television debate, this topic took up more time than any other.

Oddities of the election weekend

The campaign is full of paradoxes. President Petr Pavel calls the elections but will not vote himself: he stuck to his holiday plans and will not come to the ballot box. Czech Television convened a “super-debate” but, under its own rules, did not let in politicians who appear on the candidate lists, thereby excluding four of the five opposition leaders.

The biggest crowds in the squares were drawn by an unknown woman from Cheb, whose campaign, in the words of ANO campaigner Michal David, “has nothing to do with politics”. And the party that intends to “give Prague some pace” is ODS, which has long held the post of mayor in the city. In practice the city is run by Tomáš Portlík (ODS), who has successfully passed himself off in the campaign as new blood.

Prague’s money: the government’s two arguments

First, the governing parties believe that too large a share of collected taxes is redistributed in favour of the biggest cities, and that the formulas should be reviewed. Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček assured viewers in the debate that there is no ready-made plan, but ANO supports “opening a discussion”. In that case Prague, Brno, Ostrava and Plzeň could lose money in favour of smaller municipalities, poorer regions or the state budget. Meanwhile, on billboards in the capital ANO promises that “Prague’s money belongs to Praguers”.

Second, the government is irritated by the large financial reserves built up in past years: Prague currently holds 185 billion crowns, and all municipalities together 625 billion. They are presented as a missed opportunity and as proof of the investment helplessness of the current city leaders, who, the argument goes, must be replaced.

In fairness, when tax revenue is divided up, each Praguer gets 1.9 times more money than the national average. But, as the author of the analysis notes, if change is needed, it should be carried out objectively and professionally, not as a populist raid on Praguers, among whom ANO never fully wins and so sacrifices their votes for the favour of the countryside.

There are long-standing reasons for Prague’s special position. The city pays for large construction projects itself, such as the metro and the city ring road, in which the state usually takes part abroad (and, in the case of the ring road, in Brno too). Infrastructure of national importance is also built in the capital, and access to EU subsidies is harder because Prague is relatively wealthy. In addition, there is a ban on borrowing more than 60 percent of a municipality’s annual income. It was introduced under Babiš’s previous government, which is why Prague and other cities began saving more for investment, and Andrej Babiš now reproaches them for it.

It is curious that the governing parties present surpluses in municipal budgets as a flaw, while at the central level spending and debt are growing, which would deserve far harsher criticism.

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

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz