Brno, March 10 (CTK) – Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka was re-elected chairman of the Social Democratic Party (CSSD) at the party’s congress winning 67 percent of the vote on Friday, according to the official election results.
Sobotka was supported by 460 congress delegates, while 201 voted against him in a secret ballot and 26 ballot papers were invalid.
Sobotka has been heading the CSSD since 2011. He did not have any rival candidate in the election.
Sobotka asked the delegates for a strong mandate before the October general election and he thanked for it immediately after the vote results were released.
Sobotka pointed out that he had defended the CSSD leadership for the fourth time in a row, similar to former CSSD chairman and current President Milos Zeman.
“This is a strong moment since I was elected at the CSSD’s helm for the fourth time. Only one chairman, Milos Zeman, managed this in the party’s modern history,” Sobotka said, commenting on the election results.
He thanked for the votes and said the congress had expressed the party’s clear will.
In the previous election in 2015, Sobotka won some 85 percent of the vote. He was similarly successful in 2013 with support of 84 percent of the delegates.
Sobotka said he would try to persuade the delegates who had not voted for him that the CSSD can win the election.
“In the CSSD, we must also fight with unwillingness to change things and indolence. A slightly different way of thinking is needed. The Social Democracy cannot stand still, it must think about new programme priorities. I have received a mandate for a aggressive and clearly leftist policy that will be for hardworking people. I will try to persuade those who did not give me their votes that this will bring results,” Sobotka said.
Former South Moravia regional governor Michal Hasek, Sobotka’s rival in the party, told CTK that the 67-percent support for Sobotka reflected the current mood in the CSSD.
Sobotka faced criticism in the party after the Senate and regional elections last autumn in which the CSSD suffered a debacle.
He reacted to this by a government reshuffle, replacing some CSSD ministers, such as the health and human rights ministers. In his report for the delegates he justified the personnel changes by his will to better present the human rights and healthcare agenda.
All CSSD regional organisations except for the South Bohemian one supported his continuation in the chairman’s post.
In his nomination speech, Sobotka criticised Deputy PM and Finance Minister Andrej Babis (ANO). He accused Babis, a billionaire businessman, of attempting to gain an absolute and uncontrolled power by all means.
Sobotka, who is heading the centre-left coalition government of the CSSD, ANO and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), said he would like to lead the Social Democrats to the general election to prevent the threat of a rightist government of ANO and the Civic Democrats (ODS).
