Prague, Feb 17 (CTK) – The prepared election coalition of the Czech junior government Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the opposition Mayors and Independents (STAN) movement may collapse, MP Jiri Cunek (KDU-CSL), Moravian Zlin regional governor, said in an interview for Friday’s issue of daily Lidove noviny (LN).
The two parties have agreed to hold negotiations about joint lists of candidates for the October general election, but they will preserve their trademarks’ independence. However, they will have to win at least 10 percent of the vote, while the parliamentary barrier for one party is 5 percent.
The KDU-CSL won 6.8 percent of the vote in the early general election in October 2013. STAN supported TOP 09, which won 12 percent of the vote. STAN ended its cooperation agreement with TOP 09 last December.
The KDU-CSL and STAN now want to stand up to the current government major parties, the Social Democrats (CSSD) and the ANO movement, in the election.
LN writes that it might seem that the partnership, dubbed the Third Force, is sealed and that only details remain to be fine tuned.
However, the KDU-CSL’s cooperation with STAN is not welcome particularly in Moravia, LN writes.
It writes that the KDU-CSL is strong in the South Moravia and Zlin regions, which means that they alone would gather enough votes, and second, they are used to that quite many of them get to parliament.
However, fewer of them would gain parliament mandates if the party formed joint lists of candidates with STAN, LN writes.
“If the whole thing is badly communicated to the rank and file, the opinion could prevail that we are a traditional party that should run in the election on its own,” Cunek, who is also a senator and mayor of Vsetin, told LN.
Being a typical representative of a strong Moravian region, he said the division of posts on the lists of candidates in the proportion 60-40 in favour of the KDU-CSL would be just.
Reacting to considerations about that neither party can now withdraw from the coalition agreement, Cunek said it is false.
“Both parties can make a different decision for some reasons. Their top bodies did not vote unanimously after all. If discords appeared already now, we might part,” Cunek said.
Asked about the greatest advantage of cooperation with STAN, Cunek said many Christian Democrats have the experience of mayors, whether present or past, and that is why they can see many problems equally or similarly.
In the 2006 general election, the KDU-CSL gained slightly more than 7 percent of the vote and the Greens less than 1 percent fewer. Due to the election system, the former gained 13 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and the Greens only six, Cunek said.
“This is what brings us together with STAN – the election system that reinforces the stronger and hamrs the weaker. It is better to join forces and be also stronger in negotiations about possible governments,” Cunek said.
STAN and the KDU-CSL already closely cooperate in the Senate.
