TOP 09 exodus in South Moravia: 30 members join Christian Democrats

About 30 longtime members are leaving the TOP 09 party in South Moravia, and 25 of them are joining the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL). The defectors name the main reason themselves: personal ties and years of cooperation with the regional governor, Christian Democrat leader and newly elected senator Jan Grolich.

“Time to move on”

“As of today, I am ending my membership in TOP 09. It was not an easy decision, but the time has come to move on. I feel that something is emerging alongside Jan Grolich that offers hope and opportunity for Czech politics, and I want to be part of that team,” said Marek Sovka, the regional chairman of TOP 09 and deputy governor of the South Moravian Region, on Tuesday.

Regional councillor Michal Doležel explained that he had recently lost faith that the party could be restarted under the current circumstances and regain the strength and energy it had, in his view, when it was founded by Karel Schwarzenberg and Miroslav Kalousek. He sees in Grolich a figure whose politics can appeal even to voters who have never voted for the Christian Democrats.

Regional councillor and Letovice mayor Petr Novotný called Grolich a “breath of fresh air” in politics. Grolich himself said he understands how hard it is to leave a party and that he is “delighted” that people are ready to join his.

TOP 09’s reaction

TOP 09 chairman Matěj Ondřej Havel said such things happen in politics. At a press conference, he accused Grolich of having lured opposition politicians in the regions for some time. In his words, this was a coordinated action, and he has heard of similar attempts by Grolich in the Olomouc and Zlín regions. He does not expect any other departures for now. He said he does not understand Doležel’s remarks about losing faith in success: “These people won their elections in a TOP 09 T-shirt.” Voters, Havel said, should judge their stance.

The opposition’s rising star

Grolich has become known as the new star of the opposition. Two years ago, in the regional elections, he led the Spolu coalition to a clear victory with 40 percent of the vote. He also stood out in this year’s elections: he recorded a viral song, “You, Governor,” followed by a campaign called “We Didn’t Want This,” in which the Christian Democrats mainly criticize the large state budget deficit.

In the Senate elections, Grolich won more than 60 percent of the vote and secured his seat in the first round. In the Vyškov district he defeated Petra Absolonová (ANO), a head nurse at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute. The new Christian Democrat leader has also recently refreshed the party’s visual identity and communication style, and he makes no secret of wanting to lift the party up. Nationwide polls give it around three percent.

Political scientist Michal Pink of Masaryk University believes Grolich’s strong personality may not be enough to carry a national election: “The problem for KDU-ČSL is that it is a regionally limited party and a brand that is not viewed positively across 80 percent of Czechia.”

Why now

The former TOP 09 members have long worked with Grolich and his team in South Moravia, know each other well and can rely on working personal relationships, so the move is a natural step for them. The timing also has a pragmatic reason: the results of the recent municipal elections. In Brno, the coalition of the Christian Democrats and Mayors won 18 of 55 seats on the city council. The ODS, TOP 09 and independents alliance finished second with 13 seats.

While the ODS and TOP 09 weakened after the elections, the winning Christian Democrats are now negotiating a broad coalition without the ANO movement. Christian Democrat leader Jakub Hruška will most likely become the new mayor of Brno. Outgoing Brno mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS) said the result mostly reflects national politics, the strong rise of the Mayors, and the “Grolich phenomenon” in South Moravia.

The Christian Democrats are also more attractive to newcomers: since the spring congress, where Grolich became party chairman, KDU-ČSL has received 417 membership applications. Since the first round of the Senate elections on October 10, 132 more people have expressed interest in joining.

Grolich says the departure of the South Moravian TOP 09 members should have little impact on national politics; in the parliamentary elections, he said, much will depend on how individual parties perform. Still, he supports closer cooperation between parties, and its form should be decided by the end of 2028, in his view. “We want to go into that election with the greatest possible strength, comfortably above five percent, so that we could run on our own if necessary,” he said. Political scientist Pink is convinced that merging the opposition is essential for success at the national level and should create a lasting force capable of winning up to 35 percent in the Chamber of Deputies elections.

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

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz