City Hall coalition negotiations turn ugly

In the latest in a series of joustings, TOP 09 Prague mayoral candidate Zdeněk Tůma released an open letter condemning Civic Democratic Party (ODS) candidate Bohuslav Svoboda Nov. 8 as dishonest.

The two center-right parties are in the midst of negotiating a Prague City Hall coalition. However, despite winning the Oct. 15-16 vote in the capital, TOP 09 has found itself on the sidelines in recent weeks as speculation increasingly points to a so-called grand coalition between the center-right ODS and the left-leaning Social Democrats (ČSSD).

Though ideologically opposed, the ODS and ČSSD have dominated politics in the Czech Republic for the past 20 years, leading analysts to conclude that the old-guard parties have common interest in maintaining clientelist networks built over that period, in particular between party branches in the capital.

"The Prague ODS is rooted in, let's say, business life," said political analyst Bohumil Doležal. "And, of course, the Prague ODS is used to cooperating with the Prague ČSSD."

Grand coalitions have formed in three of the country's four largest cities: Brno, Ostrava and Plzeň, with Prague the lone holdout.

Meanwhile, the ČSSD mayoral candidate, Jiří Dienstbier Jr., left the team negotiating with ODS to form a coalition Nov. 8. Dienstbier has publicly opposed a grand coalition, citing concerns about past corruption by ODS officials in Prague.

A ČSSD-ODS coalition would mean that governments both at the national level and at Prague City Hall would fail to include the de facto winners of the respective elections. The ČSSD has a majority in the Senate and the most seats in Parliament's lower house but is not part of the government. In Prague, TOP 09 will have the most assembly seats but could be sidelined from the City Council.

"I honestly believe a right-wing coalition in Prague is the logical outcome of elections," Tůma wrote in his letter, before adding that two recent television interviews by Svoboda, "severely eroded my faith in [his] intentions."

A court challenge to an ODS electoral redistricting plan in Prague is pending, with a ruling slated for later this month. The case has the potential to force a rerun of the election.

- Filip Šenk contributed to this report.

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com