HN: Nečas to tour regional party offices

Prague, Feb 25 (CTK) - Prime Minister Petr Necas yesterday launched his several weeks long tour of Czech regions during which he will try to convince the mayors elected for the Civic Democrats (ODS), whose leader he has been since 2010, that his vision is good for the party, daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) writes yesterday.

It is evident why Necas has to go on a rescue mission to the regions: the ODS is undergoing one of its biggest crises, the paper writes.

The ODS preferences have dropped to 10 percent, the ODS group in the lower house of parliament is crumbling and ODS members are seeking a culprit.

ODS regional politicians demand a change in the political style or a new party leadership, HN writes.

"I'm glad the party leadership is finally interested in what the rank-and-file wants. I'm just wondering whether this should be a restart or Necas's last farewell to the ODS," said Pavel Kohout, ODS mayor of Opatovice nad Labem, east Bohemia.

To win back support of the annoyed party members in small municipalities will be crucial not only for the political survival of Necas but also for a better future of the party.

As the party's position in regions significantly weakened after the elections late last year and its influence in the lower house will probably decrease after the general election scheduled for mid-2014, towns will be the main strongholds of the Civic Democrats - provided that the ODS will manage to keep attractive personalities on their list of candidates and succeed in the municipal elections in autumn 2014, the paper writes.

Some ODS mayors are concerned already now that they will not be able to put together a list of candidates for the municipal elections, while others are seriously considering whether to move to the Mayors and Independents (STAN) movement, allied with TOP 09, the ODS's junior coalition partner.

"I discussed this possibility with mayors of some of the smaller municipalities of our (Olomouc) region," Dalibor Horak, ODS mayor of Unicov, north Moravia, is quoted as saying.

Apart from his tour, Necas wants to present a new document on the party's priorities for the next two years worked out based on comments that Necas's messengers gained from the regions after the ODS congress held last November. This document is to be officially presented in March.

But the previous similar attempt was rather unsuccessful, HN says, referring to a document called "Path to Trust" that Necas distributed at the last year's congress without attracting any enthusiastic attention.

The dissatisfaction among ODS members is caused by bad communication in the party, a series of election defeats and the improving position of TOP 09, among right-wing voters.

Opinion polls carried out in January indicated that TOP 09 has become more popular than the ODS, which has traditionally been the biggest right-wing party in the country.

The only fact that plays in Necas's hands is that he has no official strong opponent who could oust him from the seat of chairman. However, speculations have already appeared that ODS first deputy chairman Martin Kuba or deputy chairman Jiri Pospisil might replace him to help the party regain its former popularity, the paper writes.

"People are angry. There is no point in trying to deny it and one can't be surprised at it. The situation in the ODS is bad," Pospisil told HN.

The paper says the rift in the ODS manifested itself during a last week parliamentary vote on the reduction of bearer shares. A part of the ODS lawmakers opposed the government-proposed bill.

The fact that there are efforts at setting up platforms in the ODS also shows that the party is divided by internal disputes, HN writes.