ODS expels former Prague 1 mayor Filip Dvořák from the party

The executive council of the ODS party has unanimously voted to terminate the membership of Filip Dvořák, the former mayor of Prague 1 and a member of the party's executive council. According to party spokeswoman Mariana Vernerová, the reason was a serious breach of the ODS statutes — specifically, the obligation not to damage the party's reputation and to abide by the decisions of its bodies.

The council also ruled that a decision by the Prague 1 regional party council — stating that the district would not field its own list of candidates in the upcoming elections and that ODS members would instead be free to run for other political entities — was invalid. According to Vernerová, ODS will contest the Prague 1 elections in line with its own statutes, with the candidate list to be drawn up by the regional council of the Prague party organization.

Dvořák himself said he had been a party member since 1991 and had never left it, describing his expulsion as the result of a campaign triggered by two media reports. "They were full of fabrications and outright lies — for example, about my supposed links to Roman Janoušek and Pavel Bém. I haven't been accused of anything, and I'm not under investigation by anyone. Yet I was ruthlessly destroyed within 14 days," he said.

He believes the decision may stem from his open criticism in recent years of several moves by the ODS leadership, which he says has treated the Prague 1 district organization with condescension. "All decisions were made in a high-handed manner, with no willingness to meet with party members and discuss the situation with them openly. Even though I was a member of the executive council for 12 years, none of its members saw fit to invite me to a meeting or give me a chance to state my position," Dvořák said, adding that Prague 1 still matters greatly to him in his political fight.

Last week, the ODS leadership instructed the Prague 1 party branch to revise its candidate list for the autumn municipal elections so that Dvořák would not be included. According to the party leadership, the former city councillor and ex-mayor of Prague 1 failed to give a convincing account of matters related to his property holdings. According to media reports, he inherited assets worth 230 million crowns from his father.

Earlier this week, Dvořák refused to voluntarily withdraw his candidacy despite an appeal from ODS chairman Martin Kupka. Following that, the Prague 1 district organization decided to comply with the leadership's demand by simply not submitting a candidate list for the autumn elections at all — a move Dvořák himself called a "peaceful political solution." At the same time, ODS members in Prague 1 were given permission by the local body to run for other political entities, and media speculation emerged about the possible creation of a new political grouping.

This is not Dvořák's first clash with the party leadership. He previously headed the same organization back in 2011, when the party leadership under then-chairman Petr Nečas dissolved it at the initiative of the citywide Prague organization. According to party representatives, Dvořák and former mayor Jan Bürgermeister were at the time linked to a number of scandalous affairs, and the Prague branch was said to have also suffered from their personal rivalry. Nevertheless, Dvořák remained an ODS member and once again took charge of the Prague 1 district organization starting in March last year.

From 1994 to 2002, Dvořák served as a Prague city councillor, and for two years he also held the post of mayor of Prague 1. According to the ODS website, he is now a businessman and vice-president of the Czech Chamber of Commerce. During his time in elected office, his name repeatedly surfaced in the media in connection with suspicious deals involving municipal property — for instance, over the purchase of an apartment on Pařížská Street. None of the suspicions, however, was ever confirmed.

Around Prague, based on reporting by prazsky.denik.cz