Čtvrtek 28. března 2024, svátek má Soňa
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Lidovky.cz

Sen. Dernerová supports Babiš’ ANO 2011 initiative

  12:34

Most doctor turned politician says her movement Severočeši.cz hasn’t joined up with billionaire Andrej Babiš’ ANO 2011 — but she will

Do spolupráce s Andrejem Babišem bych šla sama za sebe jako senátorka Dernerová, nikoli jako vyslanec Severočechů, říká Alena Dernerová. foto: © ČTKČeská pozice

Senator Alena Dernerová, a doctor who entered the upper house of Parliament in 2010 as an independent with the North Bohemian alliance (Severočeši.cz) — considered a rising star and fresh face on the Czech political scene — has said she is a supporter of the new ANO2011 civic initiative funded by Slovak-born billionaire Andrej Babiš, owner of the Agrofert empire.

“I am an independent senator, who does not need to adhere to any party’s rules and regulations,” Dernerová, whose primary goal since taking office has been to strengthen anti-corruption measures, told Czech Position in an interview.

This publication connected her after well-informed sources said Severočeši planned to cooperate with former Social Democrat (ČSSD) prime minister Jiří Paroubek’s new center-left party, known as Left 21 for short. But the senator says this is not a possibility.

“I want to collaborate with Andrej Babiš on my own, as Senator Dernerová, not as a representative of Severočeši.cz,” she said. “However, it is quite possible that representatives of Severočeši.cz will wish to negotiate such cooperation with Mr Babiš. There would be nothing unusual in that.”

Severočeši.cz’s pricey campaign

The impetus for the establishment of the Severočeši.cz movement four months before regional elections in 2008 was a victory of the Association of Most Citizens (Sdružení Mostečané Mostu, or SMM) in that city’s municipal elections in 2006 (they won 33.36 percent of the vote that year and 50.71 percent in 2010). In regional elections in 2008, Severočeši.cz won eight seats in the Ústí region. At the time, however, the association raised considerable controversy, as it's campaign cost an estimated Kč 100 million.

“The SMM came from the grassroots up, with an anti-corruption ethos and, in particular due to the struggle of entrepreneur Jiří Zelenka, who financed the movement against the Most coalition of the [center-right Civic Democrats] ODS and the ČSSD,” Dernerová told Czech Position. ‘Mr Zelenka’s business was suffering due to the conditions in the town and that’s why he decided to break the stranglehold of the local Blue-Orange Mafia.’

“Mr Zelenka’s business was suffering due to the conditions in the town and that’s why he decided to break the stranglehold of the local Blue-Orange Mafia [the two parties’ respective colors]. And so he supported the SMM in the municipal elections in 2006. The Association achieved great success and managed to overthrow the ODS- ČSSD coalition. There were tangible results of this. A more transparent public procurement system began to emerge, which otherwise wouldn’t have had a chance to succeed.”

Mr Zelenka wanted to elevate the success of the MMS to the regional level. Therefore, he supported the creation of the Severočeši.cz. Although it gained 8 seats, which could be considered a success, he was disappointed and gradually withdrew from the political sphere. But our cooperation in the fight against corruption resulted in the continued support for my candidacy for election to the Senate in 2010.”

Worms below the ice

In last year’s municipal elections, the long-practicing doctor from Most garnered the most support among all local candidates. In the simultaneous elections to the Senate, she stood for (and won) as the Severočeši.cz candidate. For her work to combat “tunneling” (asset-stripping) and cancelling onerous contracts in hospitals in the Ústí region, Dernerová was awarded the František Kriegl Prize in 2010 by the Charter 77 Foundation.

As she says, for her outspoken criticism of corruption and tunneling in the Ústí region, she is sometimes referred to as the ústa (mouth, in Czech). “I know that in this region I’m treading on thin ice. Below it are worms of various length and width. I’m afraid that the ice beneath me will crack. Not that I would ever tolerate the worms!,” she told Czech Position.

Fishing around in Ústí

On the possible cooperation of Severočeši.cz with Paroubek’s Left 21, Dernerová says that if that really came to pass, voters would suffer. The movement’s chairman, František Ryba, said that there have been discussions with numerous parties, but there is no agreement on the table. Paroubek said much the same in a recent interview with Czech Position, stressing it was premature to speak of any coalition.

But speculation about close cooperation between Left 21 and the Severočeši.cz movement didn’t come out of thin air. The link between the two entities would likely be Ústí businessman Tomáš Horáček, a former campaign manager for the ČSSD who is said to have recruited party members in Ústí nad Labem. And then cooperated with Severočeši.cz.

According to Czech Position’s sources, Horáček is now working for Paroubek’s Left 21; however, Ústí nad Labem businessman Jaroslav Andres, general secretary of the Czech National Socialist Party 2005 (ČSNS 2005) and a financial supporter of Left 21 — who is subletting office space for the party’s headquarters in Prague 5 — denies this. “I know him [Horáček], but we definitely don’t spend time together. I can honestly say that I don’t know if he is working for the party or even looking for new members,” he told Czech Position.

Public Affairs (VV) part two?

Back to the question of Andrej Babiš. How did the senator come in contact with the billionaire entrepreneur? “It was mutual. Mr Babiš knew the principles upon which my political work are based, and I was interested in the project that he has recently begun to speak about,” she said, adding that he is viewed rather negatively by some. ‘Mr Babiš is a person not dependent on anyone else’s money, and is not beholden to anyone for anything — which is a big plus.’

“I am convinced that Mr Babiš does not tunnel or steal. Mr Babiš is a person not dependent on anyone else’s money, and is not beholden to anyone for anything — which is a big plus. He doesn’t need to go hat in hand to finance any campaign. This is a person who has authority in the business sector — and it will be necessary to rouse others entrepreneurs [to action],” Dernerová said.

Asked whether she is worried that ANO 2011 would simply become a version of the scandal-ridden Public Affairs (VV) party — the smallest member of the government coalition, which also ran on an anti-corruption ticket, and whose de facto leader Vít Bárta faces bribery charges — she said the key to success is to find honest and experienced people who can speak of their own deeds, rather than “hired” media-savvy familiar faces.

The main theme of the Babiš project, which initially will take the form of a civic initiative but could evolve into a political party, is to be a juggernaut in the fight against corruption. “When the value of public contracts is around Kč 670 billion, and a third of the money ends up god knows where, it’s very damaging. If the public procurement system were more transparent, we would not be struggling with such debt today. No one has been punished for the biggest thefts in the Czech Republic. Indeed, the state gives the impression ‘steal away, nothing will happen to you,’” Dernerová said.