Social Democrat leader not to step down over election debacle

Social Democrat leader Jan Hamáček, whose party suffered a humiliating defeat in the European elections, has said he would not be stepping down over the debacle, nor making any changes in the party leadership.

Hamáček said the new leadership had not had time to shift course since the party’s relatively recent election conference and that it would analyze and address the reasons behind the party’s defeat.

Losing four seats in the European Parliament is a bad blow and the party clearly needs to make a strong restart, Hamáček said. He said the party would now focus on preparing for the regional elections in the fall of next year.

In the European elections the Social Democrats only gained 3.9 percent of the vote, meaning they will not be represented in the EU Parliament.