Prague, May 22 (CTK) – The Czech Pirate Party would like to gain at least 10 percent of the vote in the October general election, its leader Ivan Bartos said today when the party launched its election campaign.
The Pirates promise to abolish the electronic sales registration (EET) for tradespeople, halt the outflow of money to tax havens, facilitate the communication with authorities and lower labour tax.
They will spend some five million crowns on the election campaign.
“We are no curiosity,” Bartos said, pointing to the existence of Pirate parties in the world.
The Pirates have drafted their programme entitled “Black on White” for this year’s election to the Chamber of Deputies.
While other political parties are promising the moon and have visions for ten years ahead, the Pirates consider its programme a contract with citizens, Bartos said.
“Things must be done here and now,” Bartos, the party’s election leader in the Central Bohemia Regions, added.
The Pirate’s programme is based in four main points: control of power and the powerful, a facilitated state thanks to technologies, the protection of citizens against harassment, and defence of freedom.
Prague assemblyman Jakub Michalek, elected for the Pirates in Prague, presented their draft changes in labour tax. Pirates would cut tax and other compulsory payments, such as social and health insurance, from the current 48.6 percent to 47 percent, which Michalek called “a super flat tax.”
The reform proposed by the Pirates would be advantageous for 99 percent of employees. The state budget revenues would decrease by a few billions of crowns over it, he added.
The Pirates have one senator and some representatives in regional and local authorities.
They have failed to cross the 5-percent threshold in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies so far.
Bartos told reporters today that his party would not cooperate with undemocratic parties, such as Communists (KSCM). The Pirates’ stance on the government ANO movement of Andrej Babis is no so clear. Bartos called it a strong leader’s party. He, however, ruled out that the Pirates would support a government whose members had been entangled in corruption scandals in the past.
It si up to the Pirates’ national committee to decide on the post-election strategy definitively.
($1=23.710 crowns)
