Právo: ODS losing members en masse

Prague, Feb 8 (CTK) - Members are leaving the Czech senior government Civic Democratic Party (ODS) en masse, and other big parties' membership is also decreasing, the daily Pravo writes yesterday.

The ODS has lost some 5000 members in three years, it adds.

The party's membership reached the peak under then ODS chairman and prime minister Mirek Topolanek (in office 2006-2009) when the party returned to power after eight years of the Social Democrat (CSSD) governments.

At the end of Topolanek's government in 2009, the ODS had about 33,000 members. A year later it was only 31,465, Pravo recalls.

Last October, current ODS leader and Prime Minister Petr Necas said the ODS has only 28,000 members. As of Monday, the ODS membership was 27,741, party spokesman Tomas Bartovsky said.

Nevertheless,the current ODS membership is slightly above the average in the 20-year history of the party, established in 1991, ODS deputy chairman Pavel Drobil, who will lead the campaign ahead of the autumn elections to one-third of the Senate and regional assemblies, told Pravo.

Drobil said he does not think that the party would feel the lack of its members in the election campaign.

Like in the past, the ODS will again use its "Blue Team" of supporters and volunteers to help in the election campaign, for instance, with the staging of election rallies. According to the ODS's website, the team comprises 10,135 people, including the legendary hockey player Jaromir Jagr.

Pravo writes that other Czech parties in parliament face a decrease in membership, too.

Members of the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Communists (KSCM), who are often quite old, are "dying out," Pravo says.

The KSCM had 66,627 members in June 2009. This year it was 63,000.

The KDU-CSL has lost a half of its members in 14 years. In 1998 the party registered some 60,000 members, while this year it was merely 32,500, Pravo writes.

The decline in CSSD membership, which was marked after the party went to opposition in 2006, stopped lately.

In June 2009 the now senior opposition CSSD registered 23,110 members, a year later it was 24,744 and the latest figure is 24,396.

On the contrary, the number of the government TOP 09 members is slightly rising.

A year ago TOP 09 had 4400 members, its current membership is about 100 higher. When TOP 09 was established in 2009 it attracted a number of influential Christian Democrats, Pravo notes.

Public Affairs (VV), the smallest government party, suffers from a considerable decline in membership. In 2010, the party had 1700 members, but last year only 900 paid membership fees.

In addition, the VV has its registered supporters who participate in the decision-making vis internal referendums and primary elections, Pravo says.

Out of the largest extra-parliamentary parties, the Sovereignty of Jana Bobosikova registers some 2000 members, the Party of Citizens' Rights of Milos Zeman (SPOZ), former CSSD chairman and ex-PM, has the same membership, while the Greens (SZ) estimate the number of their members at 1500, Pravo writes.