Motorists flop in Prague election with just over 2% of the vote

The Motorists party flopped in Prague’s municipal election: with more than half of the votes counted, the list led by Klára Sovová had just over 2%. That is roughly what the party won four years ago, in its first-ever election, although the party believed it could clear the 5% threshold.

Earlier in the afternoon, shortly after counting began, the mood at party headquarters was upbeat. Culture Minister Oto Klempíř spoke to journalists of an “enormous success”, and party chairman Petr Macinka said: “Public reactions are good, so we’ll see.” Minister for Sport, Prevention and Health Boris Šťastný celebrated the party’s first seat on a local council: it went to Martin Král in Černouček, the home village of President Petr Pavel. Filip Turek was also pleased with the seat. Party figures hid from the press in separate rooms, from which laughter and the clinking of glasses could be heard.

The mood changed by evening

Shortly before 8 p.m. the tone shifted. “We won’t be completely satisfied in Prague,” Macinka admitted, explaining the result by saying that in the capital “parties that define themselves against the current government win”. He added that Prague is difficult for the party and differs from the rest of the country, and that voters need to be better convinced that the Motorists’ proposals will suit them. He suggested drawing conclusions after an analysis: four years ago the party ran from scratch, now it ran as a governing party, and by the parliamentary election in three years, he said, the party should have learned its lessons.

The head of the Prague branch, Šťastný, is not surprised by the result: “Big cities in Europe tend to choose a progressive rather than a conservative stance.” The task, he said, is to add to the “hard core” of supporters people to whom the party can offer something at the local level.

Who led the list and what was promised

The list was led by Klára Sovová, 60, co-owner and operator of the Luční bouda and Labská bouda mountain chalets in the Krkonoše mountains. She is known for her loud disputes with the former Krkonoše National Park administration: she objected to the ban on driving up to Luční bouda, which lies in a strictly protected zone. Sovová ran unsuccessfully for the Senate twice for the ODS, and last year tried to win a seat in the Chamber of Deputies for the Motorists. She did not attend the press conference and did not comment on the party’s low result.

In Prague the party ran under the slogan “The courage to go against the grain”, with transport as its main theme. Sovová promised to scrap “unnecessary” bike lanes, introduce a single parking card and make public transport free for Prague residents: “In three years I see a drivable Prague with an inner ring road.”

Scandals and success in Ostrava

The Motorists have recently been at the centre of several scandals, including Filip Turek’s accident and Macinka’s podcast with a man in a balaclava. Sovová admitted: “If that was meant to hurt us, it already has.” Turek said he could not judge the situation because he had not taken an active part in the campaign.

The party fielded lists in 61 towns and cities, and 1,260 of its candidates competed for seats on councils. Besides Prague, the emphasis was on Brno and Ostrava. In Brno the list was led by Tomáš Kratochvíl, head of the Brno-Bystrc district and a former Social Democrat, but the party failed to win seats on the city council there too.

In Ostrava the Motorists do make it onto the council: the list was led by young MP Matěj Gregor. The party had hoped for 10%, but the current 8% is enough. Macinka called Gregor one of those who brought the party to the municipal level, and Šťastný noted that most of the successful candidates already work in their regions.

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

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz