Get Out the Vote

Election season is upon us. Political parties stand ready to woo voters by any means necessary. No, I'm not referring to all the emails piling up in my in-box from MoveOn.Org, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and various senators and congressfolk. No, no, those went right in the trash folder this year.

I'm talking about the Czech elections being held yesterday and today. Throughout the country Czechs lined up and dropped ballots, mostly for municipal seats. In Prague, residents voted for city mayor, district mayors, and city council. Also on the ballots are senators, who have powers much like the House of Lords in Great Britain -- they can slow laws down but can't stop them. Czech senators have a much more limited role than those in the US. On the upside (for them), they only met 18 days last year.

No lawn signs here, just these enormous sidewalk displays all over the city.

"Rozum i cit, Reason, and feeling," proclaims the CSSD (Czech Party of Social Democrats). "Přídejte závaží, přídejte svůj hlas. Add weight, add your vote."

CSSD pre-dates the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918. It figured prominently in the governing coalitions of the First Republic. CSSD used to stand for Czecho-Slovak Social Democrats. Replacing "Slovak" with "strana" (party), the organization kept its acronym and presumably any gravitas that accompanies longevity.

"Podzim má oranžovou barvu. Autumn is orange." Orange is the party's color.


"Praha je kultura. Kultura je Praha, Prague is culture. Culture is Prague," claims Jan Kalousek from ODS, the Civil Democratic Party. Catchy.


"Náš svět je Praha 6, Our world is Prague 6," says Tomáš Chalupa, current mayor of Prague 6, who is running to retain his position. Also, "Radnice pro lidi. City Hall for people." As opposed to zebras.

Chalupa is another ODS member.


ODS was pulling hard for the pastry-lovers vote. I picked up pastries at the trolley stop and in front of the grocery store.


These two weren't swayed by the pastries. They're cycling for VV (Public Affairs party). Because ... "Jde to lepe! "It's better!"

The dinosaurs represent ODS, the party that has run Prague for years. VV and ODS are battling for municipal seats, but they're together (along with TOP09) in the governing coalition at the national level.


"Počítám s Vámi. Příjďte 15-16 října k volbám. I'm counting on you. Come to the elections, October 15-16." So says Zdeněk Tůma, who recently ended his term as governor of the Czech National Bank -- the country's central bank, like the US Federal Reserve -- and is running for city-wide mayor on the TOP09 line.

TOP09, as the name suggests, was founded last year. It's a conservative party whose major drawing power is the country's most popular politician these days, Prince Karel Schwarzenberg, the pipe-smoking, bow-tie wearing foreign minister. The guy's got a fan club, for crying out loud.

As for our meeting our civic responsibilities, Karl and I requested absentee ballots for next month's US elections. We will give careful consideration to all candidates who send baked goods our way.