Convicted Bárta vows to stay in politics

A Prague District Court convicted Vít Bárta of bribery April 13, but that isn't stopping the former Public Affairs (VV) party boss from staying involved in politics.

As he vowed to appeal his 18-month suspended sentence, which includes 30 months of probation, Bárta also said he will not resign his parliamentary seat and has now unofficially launched a campaign for governor of the Plzeň region - the election for which takes place this fall.

The Prague-born Bárta has no known connection to Plzeň and is hardly hiding his main motivation for entering the race: revenge.

"I have decided to run in the Plzeň region mainly not to give up the fight with [the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Plzeň chapter Chairman Roman] Jurečko and [Justice Minister Jiří] Pospíšil," he said on a Czech Television talk show April 15. "I will now move on the offensive."

Bárta, previously the chief financier and de facto leader of junior coalition party VV, was convicted of dispersing significant amounts of money to party members in an effort to guarantee their loyalty. While not officially VV chairman, Bárta was widely considered the behind-the-scenes leader.

In April 2011, Deputy Kristýna Kočí alleged Bárta, who was transport minister at the time, gave her 500,000 Kč to keep the particulars of party financing a secret. Those accusations came just days after another deputy, Jaroslav Škárka, said Bárta paid him 55,000 Kč per month for similar silence. Bárta insisted both payments were loans.

Škárka found himself a co-defendant in the case after he initially kept the bribe money. He was sentenced to three years in prison and banned from running for Parliament for 10 years.

"The court's verdict is objective, and it is balanced with solid argumentation," said Radim Bureš of Transparency International. "It reflects the essence of what happened. It is a good enough reason for anyone, not just Vít Bárta, to leave politics. But I can't say I was surprised by Bárta's decision to stay in."

Bárta had pledged to step down from top-level politics if convicted, but has since changed course by arguing his current position as a member of Parliament and his desire to be a regional governor do not equate to high-level positions.

"When we say high politics, we certainly don't mean all 250 constitutional officials," he said. "High politics is the executive branch and, of course, the leaders of Chamber of Deputies. I don't think an ordinary MP qualifies as high politics."

Bárta has suspended his membership in VV, a party reeling in the wake of his conviction and erratic leadership by Chairman Radek John. Recent government-mandated reports on contributors to political parties also revealed VV received a significant amount of its funding through a bank account based in Panama - a noted tax haven.  

Deputy Prime Minister Karolína Peake looks poised to take over as head of the party. Peake, a former Bárta ally, called Bárta's decision to remain involved in politics "unexpected" and "unfortunate."

Leading government officials have also sought to distance themselves from Bárta in recent days. Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek (TOP 09) has said Bárta should no longer be considered an ally of the government.

In an interview with the weekly Respekt, Prime Minister Petr Nečas (ODS) said, "A politician convicted of corruption, though the verdict is not final yet, should not remain a constitutional official."

Nečas has no power to compel Bárta to resign from Parliament.

Before entering politics, Bárta was the head of the private security agency ABL, which recently changed its name to the Mark 2 Corporation in the wake of bad press.

While Bárta long denied that ABL ever acted with political motives, a subsequent police investigation found ABL had been following Prague ODS officials for years.

More recently, ABL leaked to the press a series of recordings of former Prague Mayor Pavel Bém (ODS) and lobbyist Roman Janoušek speaking on the telephone. The recordings detailed a close relationship between the pair and an outsized influence by Janoušek on City Hall decisions. They were originally made by a special police unit investigating organized crime and it remains unclear how they were obtained by ABL. The recordings were leaked to the press the same week that Bárta's bribery trial began.

Such events have sparked rumors that Bárta has a treasure trove of dirt on leading politicians and their personal lives, which he uses to extort favors and curry political influence. Political scientist Jiří Pehe has gone as far as saying VV represents "the privatization of politics" and argues Bárta launched VV exclusively to further his business interests.

Bárta and Škárka have both appealed their convictions, and Bárta remains intent on running for the governor's post.

"I can't imagine that he could succeed in regional elections," said Bureš from Transparency International. "There is certainly a group of devoted fans who share the feeling of psychological siege, but I can't see people voting for him."

- Filip Šenk contributed to this report.

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com