Prague - Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda from the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) was dismissed today as 41 out of 42 present members of the 63-member Prague City Assembly voted to sack him. Two ODS members of the 11-member Prague City Council, Aleksandra Udzenija and Josef Nosek, were also sacked. The remaining two ODS members of the capital city's government, Ivan Kabicky and Radek Lohynsky, resigned shortly after.
The Prague City Assembly was able sack the mayor and the two ODS councilors because ODS assembly members left the hall.
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The sacking of Svoboda, Udzenija and Nosek was proposed by the Prague Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) and backed by the conservative TOP 09 party, which controls the most seats in the assembly. On Monday 27 May, TOP 09 had unilaterally withdrawn from the coalition with the ODS in Prague, pointing to the party's alleged inability to manage the capital city's affairs.
Deputy Mayor Tomas Hudecek (TOP 09) will serve as acting mayor until a new mayor is elected.
Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek (TOP 09) said that Svoboda was dismissed because of his party's inability to solve its own internal problems.
According to Svoboda himself, Prague TOP 09's move was an "unprecedented violation of all contracts and agreements" and a "betrayal of all they (TOP 09) have said." Svoboda also said that TOP 09 wanted to hurt its competitor on the right, one year before the next general election.
Prime Minister Petr Necas (ODS) said that the move was masterminded by Hudecek from Prague TOP 09 and Petr Hulinsky from the Prague CSSD, calling this cooperation a "Hu-Hu agreement". Necas also said that a similar development may also take place in the national parliament, with junior government TOP 09 allying with the opposition CSSD.
The Prague ODS has lost its control over the Prague City Council and goes into opposition for the first time in the past 22 years, which practically means since the collapse of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
