Civic Democrats confirm Petr Nečas as leader and put allies into top party posts

The acting leader of the centre-right Civic Democrats and man tipped to be the next prime minister, Petr Nečas, has been confirmed at the top of the party. What is more, votes for the other top party posts confounded expectations by delivering Mr. Nečas’ dream team.

Petr Nečas, photo: CTK

Petr Nečas underlined his hardworking and clean credentials at the weekend conference of the biggest Czech right-wing party, the Civic Democrats, in a speech asking party delegates to confirm him in the top post.

The delegates duly obliged with an overwhelming 87 percent vote for Mr. Nečas as party chairman. He was elected to the top post unopposed and becomes only the third Civic Democrat leader following in the footsteps of Mirek Topolánek who stepped down in April and the party’s founder Václav Klaus.

At that stage the 21st conference appeared to be going to script, that is the script usually written by the big regional party managers and behind the scenes power brokers and fixers. Usually, at such events most big decisions are stitched up well ahead.

David Vodrážka, photo: CTK

In this case, the key moment came when the leading Prague Civic Democrat and deputy chairman, David Vodrážka, failed to be elected to what is in essence the party’s number two position as first deputy chairman. A weak speech in which Mr. Vodrážka attracted ridicule by denying any pre-vote wheeling and dealing torpedoed his chances and he will no longer feature as one of the party’s negotiators over a future coalition government. The post was occupied by the outsider and former lower house deputy speaker, Miroslava Němcová.

After this, Mr. Nečas acted quickly to turn a reversal for the party machine and some powerful regions, such as Prague, into a rout. Rebellion, some suggested revolution, was in the air.

Mr. Nečas refused the request for a lunchtime break during which the fixers could have regrouped. Instead, the conference pressed ahead with voting for the four deputy chairmen. The result was a full hand of deputy chairmen, such as former foreign minister Alexandr Vondra and former justice minister, Jiří Pospíšil, according to the leader’s wishes.

Alexandr Vondra, Pavel Drobil, Petr Nečas, Miroslava Němcová, Pavel Blažek, Jiří Pospíšil (left to right), photo: CTK

The big losers in the rout were some of the traditionally most powerful Civic Democrat regions such as Prague and central Bohemia. For the first time in years, Prague does not have one of its nominees in the top party hierarchy.

It also appeared a defeat for the so-called godfathers, the powerful behind the scenes promoters of party and business interests which Mr. Nečas and his predecessors have denounced. Mr. Nečas himself comes from the politically lightweight region of Zlín and has cast himself as the enemy of the party’s mafia-style manipulators.