Mayors and Independents

The Mayors and Independents (Czech: Starostové a nezávislí), abbreviated to STAN, is a political party in the Czech Republic. The Mayors and Independents focus on localism[2] and promoting powers for municipalities. The party grew out of four minor parties, including Independent Mayors for the Region,[8] which allied itself with the liberal-conservative SNK European Democrats, and cooperated with the similarly liberal-conservative TOP 09 until 2016.

Mayors and Independents Starostové a nezávislí
Leader	Vít Rakušan
Deputy Leaders	Radim Sršeň Věra Kovářová Jan Horník
Chamber of Deputies Leader	Jan Farský
Senate Leader	Jan Horník
Founded	2004
Youth wing	Young Mayors and Independents
Membership (2019)	160[1]
Ideology	Localism[2] Liberalism[3] Subsidiarity[4] Pro-Europeanism[5]
Political position	Centre[6] to centre-right[7]
European Parliament group	European People's Party
Chamber of Deputies	6 / 200
Senate	10 / 81
European Parliament	1 / 21
Regional councils	38 / 675
Governors of the regions	1 / 13
Local councils	3,073 / 62,300
Website
www.starostove-nezavisli.cz
Politics of the Czech Republic Political parties Elections

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 the Czech Senate, STAN has four members. The party competes separately in local government elections. In the 2010 local elections, the party won 1,243 councillors, making it the sixth-largest party on local councils.[9]

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.

History

STAN grew out of NSK (Nezávislí starostové pro kraj; Independent Mayors for Region) founded in 2004 and transformed in 2009. Led by its first Leader Petr Gazdík and Deputy Leader Stanislav Polčák elected in 2009, STAN started co-operating with the liberal-conservative TOP 09 at all political levels; with Petr Gazdík leading the TOP 09 and STAN parliamentary group. In 2013, the said co-operation was de facto curtailed to the parliamentary level, i.e. was continued only in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. In 3/2014, Petr Gazdík was succeeded in the STAN leadership by Martin Půta (Governor, Liberecký Region); and became the First Deputy Leader deputised by Stanislav Polčák. Sharing common candidates standing in the 2014 European Parliament election, STAN and TOP 09 polled 15.95% of the votes and gained four seats with one being taken by STAN Deputy Leader Stanislav Polčák. In 2016, Martin Půta was succeeded by Petr Gazdík leading STAN into the regional and Senate elections.

Manifesto

The party's top priorities include: good stewardship, high-quality education, environmental care and heritage protection – investing in education is key to the future prosperity that, however, must be built on the principles of good stewardship (management of public funds, use of energy resources and prudential landscape interventions). In promoting the principle of subsidiarity, STAN encourages localism, decentralisation, reduced bureaucracy and corruption clampdown. STAN further promotes: European integration, high-quality education, investments in science, state economy driven by the principles of a free market with the social aspect and sanctity of private property in mind, and environment protection.

Election results

Leader of the movement Vít Rakušan

Chamber of Deputies

Year	Vote	Vote %	Seats	Place	Govt?
2010	Ran on TOP 09 list		3 / 200	6th	Yes (TOP 09)
2013	Ran on TOP 09 list		3 / 200	8th	No
2017	262,157	5.2	6 / 200	9th	No

Billboard in Prague

Senate

Election	First round			Second round			Seats won	Seats overall	Notes
	Votes	%	Places	Votes	%	Places
2012	4,460	0.5	25th	-			0 / 27	0 / 81
2014	1,613	7.0	7th	-			0 / 27	0 / 81	By-election in Zlín district.
2014	15,576	1.5	9th	11,099	2.3	9th	1 / 27	1 / 81
2016	43,234	4.9	7th	25,389	6.0	6th	3 / 27	4 / 81
2018	7,615	33.5	1st	30,331	67.11	1st	1 / 1	5 / 81	By-election in Trutnov district.
2018	76,817	7.05	7th	47,317	11.31	3rd	5 / 27	10 / 81

Leading the movement

Presidential election

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

Year	Vote	Vote %	Seats	Place
2009	53,984	2.3	0 / 22	8th
2014	Ran on TOP 09 ticket		1 / 21	8th

Footnotes

1. "Lidovcům, ČSSD i KSČM mizí členové po tisících". Novinky.cz. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
2. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Czechia". Parties and Elections in Europe.
3. https://www.i-star.cz/2019/01/31/stan-zaklada-vlastni-think-tank/
4. https://www.starostove-nezavisli.cz/volby/archiv/parlamentni-volby-2017/nejnovejsi-informace/patrime-na-zapad
5. https://www.starostove-nezavisli.cz/volby/archiv/parlamentni-volby-2017/volebni-program/zahranicni-politika-podminka-bezpecnosti-statu
6. "TABLE-Czech billionaire's ANO party wins big in election". Reuters. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
7. "Difficult Coalition Negotiations Following ANO Landslide". BMI Research. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
8. Peters, Ingo; Bakke, Elisabeth, eds. (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.
9. "Volby Do Obecních zastupitelstev ČR 2010". Retrieved 24 October 2010.

External links

• (in Czech) Mayors and Independents official website