Prague, Aug 24 (CTK) – A steep raising of teachers’ pay, education, people’s democratic awareness, the completion of key motorways and accessible justice are among the priorities of the election programme the opposition Czech Mayors and Independents (STAN) movement discussed at its conference on Thursday.
The general election is due on October 20-21.
STAN’s other priorities are a fast electronic as well as physical communication, including the digitisation of public administration, and the return of the state to citizens by scrapping redundant agenda and curbing red tape, according to the programme whose definitive text was fine-tuned by the conference in Prague.
“A number of significant experts assisted in drafting our programme, it was not completed overnight,” STAN election leader Jan Farsky told the conference.
He mentioned former lower house deputy chairwoman Hana Marvanova and Brno’s Masaryk University Rector Mikulas Bek as examples of the experts who helped complete STAN’s programme.
Farsky announced that billionaire Dalibor Dedek, co-owner of the Jablotron Group security devices producer, withdrew his candidacy for the party. He said media claimed that Dedek was yet another rich businessman who lusts for power, similar to ANO leader Andrej Babis.
Dedek said he did not want to look like a billionaire who bought the STAN.
Farsky said Dedek would keep cooperating with the party.
Until now, Dedek was STAN election leader in the Usti Region.
STAN chairman Petr Gazdik spoke of STAN’s original plan to run in the elections in a coalition with the centrist junior government Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), which, however, fell through a few weeks ago. That is why STAN dusted off and completed its own earlier-made election programme, he said.
The KDU-CSL withdrew from its alliance with STAN in fear that it might fail to reach the 10-percent threshold set for a two-party election coalition. It offered STAN positions on the KDU-CSL’s lists of candidates.
Declining the offer, STAN preferred running on its own, with the Courage to Take Over Responsibility motto.
A single-running party needs at least 5 percent to enter the Chamber of Deputies.
STAN’s voter preferences have stood below the threshold in the past months, public opinion polls have shown.
According to its programme, STAN wants to gradually raise teachers’ pay to reach 130 percent of the country’s average wage, which would have corresponded to 36,260 crowns in the first quarter of 2017.
STAN plans to interconnect schools and employers and promote education programmes to boost people’s awareness of freedom and democracy.
It wants to scrap redundant legislation, stabilise the legal order and slow down the passing of new bills.
It vows to strive for parliament to be empowered to veto an amnesty or pardon granted by the president.
In the transport field, it wants to work on the completion of key motorways, prepare the construction of high-speed railways and terminals, and also logistic centres for modern transport means.
To enhance Czech economy, STAN wants to introduce tax reliefs for reinvestments and pay rises in order to reduce the outflow of money in the form of dividends paid out by international companies.
It wants to reduce the unburden labour costs so that employers can create new jobs.
Furthermore, STAN wants to support the building of social flats, raise the Czech defence spending, reinforce the military and outline a long-term plan of military financing and armament, STAN’s election programme says.
