STAN wants to win over a fifth of ANO voters ahead of 2029 election

The Mayors and Independents movement (STAN) wants to win over about 20 percent of ANO voters who, according to its data, hold pro-European views similar to those of STAN supporters. STAN chairman Vít Rakušan said so at a meeting with journalists. Already on Saturday, after the victory in the Senate elections, where STAN won ten seats (the most of any party), he announced that his movement would become a challenger to ANO.

Betting on “pro-European” voters

According to STAN’s calculations, this part of the ANO electorate is unhappy with the coalition with the SPD and the Motorists, and with the topics raised by Andrej Babiš’s cabinet: instead of tackling expensive mortgages, the government is emphasising the abolition of licence fees and looks unclear on defence and foreign policy. The aim is to win these people over with “concrete” measures while avoiding anti-Babiš rhetoric, since a large share of ANO voters like Babiš. STAN will not ban its members from forming coalitions with ANO after the municipal elections, although it does not recommend it.

What reforms are planned

First deputy chairman Lukáš Vlček said the movement does not rule out some “left-wing” recipes either, such as regularly raising the minimum wage. But public finances will have to be consolidated: systematic reforms are needed in the biggest spending areas, namely social policy, healthcare and education. In addition, STAN wants to raise more revenue for the budget through a new tax mix: taxation of labour in Czechia is very high, while property taxes are among the lowest. The reforms will be presented in the coming years so that voters can see what the movement is going into the 2029 parliamentary election with.

What ANO and sociologists say

ANO first deputy chairman and Minister of Industry Karel Havlíček is not worried by STAN’s plans: according to him, ANO has a solid base, which the party expanded in the last election to the Chamber of Deputies. Pavel Ranocha, a sociologist at the Kantar agency, called the plan “rather bold”, but noted that ANO has lost about five percentage points since the election and its rating is now around 30 percent. In his assessment, this is the usual price of being in power, and voters may come back.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz