Krkonoše National Park director faces calls to resign in Czechia

Vrchlabí mayor and senator Jan Sobotka has demanded the resignation or dismissal of Petr Moravec, director of the Krkonoše National Park (KRNAP) administration. At a press conference on Tuesday he said the management’s actions endanger the park’s work and that the proposed staffing changes could leave the agency incompetent.

Sobotka also spoke as chairman of the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Krkonoše, but stressed that this was his personal appeal: there is no resolution from the whole union, and he agreed it in advance with individual members. He was backed by, among others, Mladé Buky mayor Lucie Potučková and Horní Branná mayor Luboš Zimmermann. The demand is addressed to the environment minister.

Departure of the grants specialist

According to Sobotka, the current course could lead to the “staffing and financial ruin of the park”. He named the departure of the head of the project management department, Josef Talab, who managed to attract more than 100 million crowns in subsidies, as the main warning sign. From 1 November Talab will become manager of Technical Services of the town of Trutnov. He explained his departure by a loss of trust in the director and in the selection process, and by a feeling that the park’s interests are not put above other interests.

The second source of discontent is the director’s silence. “He agrees with everything and then does the opposite,” Sobotka said. By his count, the upcoming organisational regulations provide for the cut of 25 jobs: of the current 18 posts at the museum in Vrchlabí, six would remain, while the museums in Jilemnice, Paseky and Vrchlabí would be left with no posts at all. The director has repeatedly said there is no need to fear restrictions on the museums’ work. In addition, the senator said, the independent state administration department could be merged into the park’s general structure, with decisions made by a deputy director.

Dispute over a new association

There is also unrest among staff. It was triggered by news that Moravec founded an association called the “Association of National Parks of Czechia”, even though an organisation with that name already exists. He told no one beforehand, including the directors of other national parks. All four of his deputies signed an open letter rejecting the director’s arguments and proposing that the association be renamed or, better still, dissolved.

“KRNAP played first fiddle in the network of national parks, and I think in all of Central Europe. How easily, with the snap of a finger, that trust can be lost. I am very sorry,” Potučková concluded.

It was not possible to obtain a comment from the director: on Tuesday he was on a business trip in Prague. Park spokesman Radek Drahný said he had no information about the planned reorganisation. According to him, posts are being cut at the founder’s request: at first 14 posts were mentioned, now it is ten, which will be gone from 1 January.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz