Mayors and Independents

The Mayors and Independents (Czech: Starostové a nezávislí; STAN) is a liberal[12] political party in the Czech Republic, focused on localism,[2] regionalism[13] and subsidiarity. It holds 33 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and is the third strongest party by number of seats following the 2021 election. In the Czech Senate, the STAN group has 19 members.

Mayors and Independents
Starostové a nezávislí
LeaderVít Rakušan
Deputy LeadersLukáš Vlček
Jan Farský
Michaela Šebelová
Pavel Čížek
Jan Lacina
Chamber of Deputies LeaderJosef Cogan
Senate LeaderPetr Holeček
Founded2004; 20 years ago (2004)
NewspaperSTANoviny
Think tankInstitute of Modern Politics iSTAR
Youth wingYoung Mayors and Independents
Membership (2021)1,921[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre[7] to centre-right[10]
National affiliationPirates and Mayors (2020–2021)
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party
Colours  Pink
  Yellow
SloganStaráme se o lidi (lit.'We take care of people.')[11]
Chamber of Deputies
33 / 200
Senate
19 / 81
European Parliament
2 / 21
Regional councils
91 / 675
Regional governors
4 / 13
Local councils
3,073 / 62,300
Website
www.starostove-nezavisli.cz

The party grew out of four minor parties, including the Independent Mayors for the Region,[14] and the liberal-conservative SNK European Democrats. Until 2016, the party cooperated with another liberal-conservative party, TOP 09. STAN contested the 2021 Czech parliamentary election as part of the coalition Pirates and Mayors with the Czech Pirate Party.

History

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STAN grew out of the Independent Mayors for the Region (Nezávislí starostové pro kraj; NSK), founded in 2004. In 2009, led by its first leader Petr Gazdík and deputy leader Stanislav Polčák, STAN started co-operating with the liberal-conservative TOP 09 at all levels, with Gazdík leading the TOP 09 and STAN parliamentary group. In the 2010 local elections, the party won 1,243 councillors, making it the sixth-largest party on local councils.[15]

In 2013, the co-operation with TOP 09 ended at local and regional levels, and continued only in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. In the 2013 election to the Chamber of Deputies, STAN won five seats on the TOP 09 list: Jan Farský, Stanislav Polčák, Věra Kovářová, František Vácha and acting leader Petr Gazdík.

In March 2014, Martin Půta, governor of the Liberec Region, was unanimously elected leader of STAN, and Gazdík became the first deputy leader with Polčák as the second deputy.[16] Running a joint list for the 2014 European Parliament election, STAN and TOP 09 received 15.95% of the vote and won four seats,[17] one of which was taken by STAN's Stanislav Polčák. In 2016, Martin Půta was succeeded by Petr Gazdík, who led STAN into the regional and Senate elections. In the 2017 election to the Chamber of Deputies, STAN won six seats: Petr Gazdík, Jan Farský, Věra Kovářová, Vít Rakušan, Martin Půta (who was replaced by Petr Pavek) and Jana Krutáková.[18]

In 2019 Vít Rakušan was elected as leader.[19] In 2020 STAN won the Senate elections, taking 11 of the 27 seats contested. The party contested the 2021 Czech parliamentary election as part of the Pirates and Mayors coalition with the Czech Pirate Party. Thanks to preferential voting, STAN took most of the coalition's 37 seats, winning 33 and becoming the third strongest party in the Chamber of Deputies.[20]

Positions

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In promoting the principle of subsidiarity, STAN encourages localism, decentralisation, reduced bureaucracy and anti-corruption measures.[2] STAN also promotes European integration, improvements to education, and investment in science.

Election results

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Leader of the party Vít Rakušan

Chamber of Deputies

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Year Vote Vote % Seats ± Place Position
2010 873,833 16.70
5 / 200
New 6th Coalition
Ran on TOP 09 list, which won 41 seats in total
2013 596,357 12.00
4 / 200
  1 8th Opposition
Ran on TOP 09 list, which won 26 seats in total
2017 262,157 5.2
6 / 200
  2 9th Opposition
2021 839,448 15.61
33 / 200
  27 3rd Coalition
Part of Pirates and Mayors coalition, which won 37 seats in total
 
Billboard in Prague

Senate

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Election First round Second round Seats won Seats overall +/-
Votes % Places Votes % Places
2012 4,460 0.5 25th -
0 / 27
0 / 81
New
20141 1,613 7.0 7th -
0 / 27
0 / 81
  0
2014 15,576 1.5 9th 11,099 2.3 9th
2 / 27
2 / 81
  2
2016 43,234 4.9 7th 25,389 6.0 6th
3 / 27
5 / 81
  3
20182 7,615 33.5 1st 30,331 67.11 1st
1 / 1
6 / 81
  1
2018 76,817 7.05 7th 47,317 11.31 3rd
5 / 27
11 / 81
  5
20193 4,514 23.53 2nd 7,070 59.50 1st
1 / 1
12 / 81
  1
2020 122,948 12.3 2nd 104,538 23.1 1st
11 / 27
19 / 81
  7
2022 75,406 6.8 5th 6,410 1.3 13th
0 / 27
15 / 81
  4
2024 87,734 11.06 3rd 53,498 13.70 3rd
5 / 27
15 / 81
  0
 
Leading the movement

1 By-election in Zlín district.
2 By-election in Trutnov district.
3 By-election in Prague-9 district.

Presidential election

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Indirect Election Candidate First round result Second round result Third round result
Votes %Votes Result Votes %Votes Result Votes %Votes Result
2008 Jan Švejnar 128 49.10 Runner-up 141 47.19 Runner-up 111 44.05 Lost
Direct Election Candidate First round result Second round result
Votes %Votes Result Votes %Votes Result
2013 Karel Schwarzenberg 1,204,195 23.40 Runner-up 2,241,171 45.20 Lost
2018 Jiří Drahoš 1,369,601 26.60 Runner-up 2,701,206 48.63 Lost

European Parliament

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Election List leader Votes % Seats +/− EP Group
2009[a] Jaromír Štětina 53,984 2.29 (#8)
0 / 22
New
2014[b] Luděk Niedermayer 241,747 15.95 (#2)
1 / 21
  1 EPP
2019[c] Jiří Pospíšil 276,220 11.65 (#4)
1 / 21
  0
2024[d] Danuše Nerudová 258,431 8.70 (#5)
2 / 21
  1
  1. ^ Run in a joint list with Your Option.
  2. ^ Run in a joint list with TOP 09.
  3. ^ Run in a joint list with TOP 09, SZ and LES.
  4. ^ Run in a joint list with Mayors for Liberec Region.

Regional election

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Year Vote1 Vote %1 Seats +/- Place
2004 Ran only in coalitions
1 / 675
10th
2008 53,462 1.83
14 / 675
13   5th
2012 28,763 1.09
38 / 675
24   5th
2016 101,696 4.02
56 / 675
18   6th
2020 167,459 6.04
91 / 675
35   4th

1 Does not include coalitions

Prague municipal elections

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Year Leader Vote Vote % Seats +/− Place Position
2022 Petr Hlaváček 1,831,696 7.8%
5 / 65
  1 5th Government

Leaders

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ "Členská základna ODS je větší než ČSSD, z mladých uskupení nejvíce roste SPD". ČT24 (in Czech). Czech Television. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Czechia". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  3. ^ "STAN zakládá vlastní think-tank!". i-star.cz (in Czech). 31 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Babiš under fire after Commission audit published". Politico Europe. 25 April 2021.
  5. ^ Zachová, Aneta (3 February 2021). "PM Babiš is slowly losing ground, opinion poll shows". Euractiv.
  6. ^ [3][4][5]
  7. ^ "Table-Czech billionaire's ANO party wins big in election". Reuters. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Difficult Coalition Negotiations Following ANO Landslide". BMI Research. 23 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Tschechische Regierung zerbricht unter Prager Korruptionsskandal". Euractiv (in German). 20 June 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  10. ^ [8][9]
  11. ^ "Staráme se o lidi, hlásí STAN s novým logem. Růžová má značit liberální směr". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. 20 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Čím dál tím liberálnější. STAN se pod vedením šéfa Rakušana přesunuli a ukotvili na mapě české politiky". Czech Radio (in Czech). 14 August 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  13. ^ Stephens, Jack (18 December 2021). "Who's Who In The New Czech Cabinet?". Brno Daily. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  14. ^ Peters, Ingo; Bakke, Elisabeth (2011). 20 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Transitions, State Break-Up and Democratic Politics in Central Europe and Germany. p. 241. ISBN 9783830527022.
  15. ^ "Volby Do Obecních zastupitelstev ČR 2010". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  16. ^ "Starosty povede Půta, dostal sto procent hlasů". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Volby do Evropského parlamentu konané na území České republiky ve dnech 23.05. – 24.05.2014". Volby.cz. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Volby do Poslanecké sněmovny Parlamentu České republiky konané ve dnech 20.10. – 21.10.2017 (promítnuto usnesení NSS)". Volby.cz. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  19. ^ "Rakušana zvolili předsedou STAN a dali mu stan". Novinky.cz (in Czech). 13 April 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  20. ^ Bureš, Milan. "Oslabení a zklamaní". Týdeník Respekt. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
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