Prague, July 31 (CTK) – The pool of small Czech parties, such as Realists, is growing before the autumn election to the Chamber of Deputies, having rich sponsors behind them, daily Pravo wrote on Monday.
Many small parties have rich donors. The Realists, founded last year, are sponsored by billionaire Marek Dospiva, owner of the Penta investment group.
Dospiva has sent three million crowns to the Realists. They are also backed by billionaire Martin Burda who sent 2.7 million crowns to their account on behalf of his Lecebne lazne Jachymov spa company, Pravo writes.
The Realists received another three million crowns from the construction company Polansky and its founding member Antonin Fryc, it adds.
The donors of the Realists include Czech-Polish producer Lesek Wronka with 300,000 crowns, Pravo writes.
The resurrected Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA), a small, but influential party that ended a decade ago, is largely sponsored by its leader, billionaire Pavel Sehnal. Through his firm ABF, he has sent three million crowns to the party since April, Pravo writes.
The Referendum on the European Union, which arose from the Czexit association, is also backed by some influential businesspeople.
“We founded Czexit to promote the idea of a referendum that was supported by so many fellow citizens in a record time that we decided to take part in the parliamentary election this year,” its leader Frantisek Matejka said.
Businessman Pavel Chleborad has donated over one million crowns to it and smaller, but not negligible sums were sent to it by other businesspeople as well, Pravo writes.
The investments may be profitable even if the parties fail to cross the 5 percent threshold to enter the Chamber of Deputies.
All the parties that reach a certain result receive a financial contribution from the state. It will be given to all that will gain more than 1.5 percent of the vote.
After the 2013 general election, the Pirates, which gained 2.66 percent, received over 13 million crowns from the state, Pravo writes.
The parties which get over 3 percent of the vote obtain six million crowns a year. They also get another 200,000 crowns a year for each 0.1 percent of the vote above the limit.
The party which gets 1.5 percent also receives 100 crowns for each vote.
The Greens gained almost 16 million for their 3.2 percent of the vote, the Citizens’ Rights Party (SPO) 7.5 million crowns for 1.5 percent of the vote and the anti-European Free Citizens’ Party (SSO) 12.2 percent for 2.4 percent of the vote.
