Coalition for Prague Confirmed: Petr Hlaváček to Become New Mayor

Just over a month after the municipal elections in the Czech Republic, the new governing coalition for the capital, Prague, has been confirmed. The alliance of STAN, Spolu and Praha sobě will govern the city in the coming years. The current Deputy Mayor, Petr Hlaváček, is set to become the new Mayor.

The Czech capital will be governed by a coalition consisting of the Mayors and Independents movement (STAN), the electoral alliance Spolu (ODS and TOP 09) and the civic movement Praha sobě. The three political groups reached an agreement, as their representatives announced to journalists on Wednesday.

The new coalition holds a comfortable majority, with 47 of the 65 seats in the Prague City Assembly. The coalition partners intend to announce details of the composition of the City Council on 18 November, one day before the scheduled election of the new city leadership.

“I think we have a broad, very well and professionally put together coalition,” said Mayor-designate Petr Hlaváček (STAN). He added that the alliance of the three most successful political groups in the municipal elections represented 63 per cent of Prague’s voters.

Election of the New City Leadership on 19 November

Coalition negotiations began in the week following the municipal elections on 9 and 10 October. From the outset, the victorious Mayors and Independents movement (STAN) sought an alliance with Spolu and an additional coalition partner in the form of either Praha sobě or the Pirates. All the political groups involved ruled out cooperation with the ANO movement.

The inaugural meeting of the Prague City Assembly was adjourned last Thursday until 19 November. The coalition agreement is expected to be signed by then.

In Prague’s municipal elections, STAN and Spolu emerged as the strongest political forces, winning 17 seats each. Praha sobě secured 13 seats, followed by ANO with eleven and the Pirates with seven. The governing parties SPD and Motoristé sobě failed to secure seats in the Prague City Assembly.

Until now, Prague has been governed by a coalition of Spolu (ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL), the Pirates and STAN under Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS).