The independent candidates of Poděbrady (Nezavislí kandidáti Poděbrady) for this fall’s local elections in Poděbrady, Czech Republic, created by Mayor Jaroslav Červinka, includes members of the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL), which is part of the national coalition government. Červinka created the list after the ‘Mayors and Independents’ (STAN) leadership, of which he was a member at the time, criticized him for his racist comments about Roma.

KDU-ČSL President Marian Jurečka condemns these remarks, but also claims that the list is not managed by her party and that it is the choice of these members themselves on which list to stand. At a June meeting of the local assembly, Červinka recounted the time he was reprimanded by the district authority decades ago.

The mayor said he was reprimanded for remarks he made after a traffic accident in 2001 which was allegedly caused by dogs believed to belong to a Roma. “…I then said my memorable line that it was better to shoot them. The cop told me not to shoot them, that the dogs couldn’t help it, and I I said I didn’t mean it was the dogs that should be shot,” he said.

When explaining his remarks to the police at the time, Červinka dismissed the idea that he had racist tendencies or that he would in fact want to shoot Roma. He has since apologized for his remarks.

Jurečka: I condemn Červinka’s words, but his list of candidates is not under the control of KDU-ČSL

“I condemn Mr Červinka’s words, they are unacceptable to me and I would never make such a statement, if only because I have many friends among our fellow Roma citizens. I myself am involved in improving the image of the Roma community, for example, through my social media posts. An example is the successful hair salon in Olomouc. Also, I have been collaborating with Roma organizations for a long time,” Jurečka told the Romea.cz news server.

The Christian Democrat President then declared that the list of candidates in question was an independent list, and not a KDU-ČSL list, in Poděbrady. “If our members run on this list of candidates, then it is their choice. They themselves know the politics in their area. However, I regret that the list of candidates is headed by a person who has said such things Generally, the whole situation around Mr. Červinka is regrettable,” Jurečka said; Romea.cz learned that there were four KDU-ČSL members on the list of candidates headed by Červinka, such as the party’s regional director for the Central Bohemian region, Petr Dvořák.

Regional Director of KDU-ČSL: I know Červinka personally, he does not want to discriminate against anyone

Dvořák also said he regretted the anti-Roma remarks made by the leader of the candidate list. “The comments made by Mr. Jaroslav Červinka are really unfortunate and I regret that he expressed himself in this way to his fellow citizens,” Dvořák told the Romea.cz news server, adding that he was happy that the Mayor apologized for these remarks.

“I have known him personally for many years and I am convinced that he does not wish to discriminate against any of his fellow citizens in any way. He has spent 24 years in local politics and he has worked a lot to benefit the citizens, which they demonstrated by supporting the petition for its list of independent candidates,” Dvořák said when asked why he thought it was in order for KDU-ČSL members to join the list.

“I personally know Mr. Jaroslav Červinka for many years, he made this remark in a tense situation, which is no excuse, he should never have said it and I do not agree to speak that way,” Dvořák told the news server. Romea.cz when asked why he himself accepted a place on the list. Červinka originally stood as the head of the list of the STAN movement, but after making his racist remarks, the Nymburk district cell of this party called on him not to stand for re-election on their list.

The president of the STAN movement at the national level, Vít Rakušan, declared that if Červinka did not step down, he would be removed from office, and the movement’s supervisory board also filed a request to suspend Červinka’s membership. In response, the mayor created a new list of candidates called the Poděbrady Independent Candidates (Nezavislí kandidáti Poděbrady).