Prague mayor says public transport head's dismissal attack on him

Prague, Aug 16 (CTK) - The dismissal of Vladimir Lich as director general of the Prague Transport Company (DP) Thursday is a personal attack on Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda (Civic Democrats, ODS) that threatens the anti-corruption principles of the city management, Svoboda has told Czech Television (CT).

He said it is not a clash between the ODS and TOP 09 at the the City Hall, but a dispute with members of the DP supervisory board, including some ODS politicians.

Lich, too, described his dismissal as an attack on Svoboda and he criticised the influence of some politicians on the DP management.

Prague Transport Company Supervisory board member David Vodrazka (ODS), who proposed Lich's dismissal, rejected Svoboda's stance.

"This is not an attack on the mayor or the ODS. It has nothing to do with politics," Vodrazka said.

Lich was reminded of the problems and his mistakes at the previous meetings and the Wednesday meeting was only the "last straw," Vodrazka added.

Svoboda is considering changes in the City Council over the dispute. He said he will deal with the situation at a coalition meeting of the Prague ODS and TOP 09 early next week.

He wants changes to be made in the DP supervisory board and he is not even giving up the idea of Lich's return to the post of DP director.

"It is an attack on the principles that I am defending. I do not perceive it as an attack that would be connected with the ODS or the coalition partner TOP 09," Svoboda said.

He said he cannot imagine Vodrazka staying on the board.

Svoboda has, however, been in dispute over the DP management also with his deputy Josef Nosek (ODS).

Prague TOP 09 chairman Frantisek Laudat said he sees the case as an expert, rather than political problem about whether Lich was or was not capable of managing DP.

"It is not an attempt at terminating the coalition agreement," Laudat said.

He added that he warned Svoboda of the situation in DP in June already.

Laudat said Lich did not, for instance, submit any idea of the firm's fiscal consolidation in a few years ahead.

"I think that someone has lost patience...the transport company is directed by the tandem mayor-director general, while the mayor is not sitting on the supervisory council," said Petr Dolinek, chairman of the group of Social Democrat (CSSD) deputies.

On Wednesday, when Lich was dismissed as a member of the DP board, he filed criminal complaints against several people who signed disadvantageous contracts for DP, including former members of the DP management.

Svoboda said on Wednesday Lich's dismissal may be connected with the criminal complaint.

The supervisory council criticised Lich for certain steps that they said seriously threatened the firm's operation.

A majority of the council members, including ODS members, voted in support of Lich's dismissal.