Page 46 - bneMag February 2021_20210202

46 I Central Europe bne February 2021
Pirate Party leader Ivan Bartos could become Europe's first Pirate premier.
Czech Pirates and Mayors approve final coalition agreement for 2021 elections
to take the lead in this country in its most difficult times. In times of an economically devastated country, in times when many people and companies are sinking,” Bartos said.
“I would say that this cooperation
may be based primarily on politically pragmatic foundations. Pirates and Mayors agreed to it mainly because
they want to achieve a stronger election result, they want to be a competitor
for the ANO movement and ... to even defeat the ANO movement,” commented political reporter Marie Bastlova.
“The Pirates do not have too many politi- cal parties to create a possible coalition with. I dare say that the Mayors and the Independents are basically one of the few entities in the Chamber of Deputies that the coalition with the Pirates could be created with,” Bastlova said.
"We do not want a revolution because we do not want to change the system. But we want an evolutionary leap
that comes in biology after a period of stagnation. We feel that the potential of the Czech Republic has not been used in recent years, and the coronavirus crisis has revealed this to 'the bone marrow'," said STAN Chair Vit Rakusan for Czech Radio Plus.
According to Rakusan, STAN and the Pirates will either form the government or stay in the opposition together.
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The Czech opposition Pirate Party and Mayors and Independents movement (STAN) have signed an agreement to form a progressive coalition for the parliamentary elections in October 2021 which, according to opinion polls, could allow them to overtake Prime Minister Andrej Babis's ANO party to become the largest political grouping.
"I am very pleased that the members
of the Pirate Party have approved
the coalition agreement between the Pirates and the STAN movement. This is a very strong mandate, which I value very much and, above all, I thank our members for it. I believe that we will not disappoint your trust and that the combination of Pirates and STAN will succeed in the elections," said Pirates chair Ivan Bartos, the coalition's candidate for prime minister. If elected, he would be the first Pirate premier in the European Union.
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According to the agreement, the coalition will focus on transparency, digitalisation, human rights, and climate issues. On other issues the radical Pirates and the more staid Mayors may struggle
“I am very pleased that the members of the Pirate Party have approved the coalition agreement between the Pirates and the STAN movement”
to find consensus, though Bartos made pains to stress that the alliance was not opportunistic.
"As we have already declared, this is
a solid coalition, standing on solid foundations. A coalition that will not fall apart even after the election. In those we intend to succeed and reach the highest goal – to be the winners.
We are ready, if we have the opportunity,
They say that in a coalition they have
a chance to win the election and thus meet the condition stated in recent days by Czech President Milos Zeman that the next PM should be the winner of the elections.
The popularity of the Pirate party has been growing in the past year, mainly since the outbreak of COVID-19 back in March 2020 and the government's