Macinka, Turek and Šťastný will negotiate for Motorists. They will meet with ANO in the evening

The Motorists made it to the Chamber of Deputies in their first parliamentary election. After counting almost all the precincts, they won 6.8 percent of the votes and 13 seats. "A new era is opening before us. We have a lot of work ahead of us," said party leader Petr Macinka. According to him, negotiations with the victorious ANO movement will begin on Saturday evening. iDNES.cz reporters followed the events all day long directly at their headquarters in Prague's Hradčany.

"The elections showed that people want change. We want to end Fiala and watch over Babiš, as we promised from the beginning," Macinka said at a press conference. Thirteen MPs will sit in the Chamber of Deputies for the Motorists.

Macinka expects the first round of negotiations with the election winner to take place on Saturday evening. The negotiating team will consist of the movement's chairman, honorary president Filip Turek, and Prague leader Boris Šťastný.

"There is definitely something to build on, especially within the European Patriots faction, where we are together with the ANO movement," said Macinka. "But we will not compromise on our program conditions." For example, Motorists, unlike ANO, reject inclusion in education.

Honorary Chairman and MEP Filip Turek arrived at the headquarters shortly after five in the afternoon. "I have to inform you that you have lost your mandate in the European Parliament," Macinka greeted him. "I am terribly sad. I guess I will have to go there to pack my things," Turek responded with exaggeration.

With his election to the Chamber of Deputies, his mandate in the European Parliament will automatically expire. He will be replaced by Antonín Staněk from Přísaha.

At the conference, Turek thanked voters and called on the government to apologize to those it labeled "pro-Russian."

We have a clash of ideologies with the SPD, admitted Turek

According to Turk, the Motorists and the SPD have fundamental ideological differences, especially in their positions on the European Union and NATO. "But honestly, I would have a bigger problem with the Mayors or the Pirates," he added.

Prague leader Boris Šťastný also rejected cooperation with both the Pirates and the Mayors. Like Turek, he called the SPD's proposal for a referendum on leaving the European Union a problem.

They offered schnitzels and cider at the election headquarters

The motorists chose the Renaissance Martinický Palace near Prague Castle for their headquarters. In addition to politicians and supporters, more than ninety accredited journalists are following the results here .

Guests will be treated to a rich refreshment – ​​right-wing schnitzel, election goulash and also Turk's "homemade" cider. This refers to the recent case of an MEP who has an unapproved garage in his garden in Dubče, Prague, described as a cider house.

Among the first to arrive was the leader of the South Bohemian candidate group and former head of Cermat, Miroslav Krejčí. At first, the security guard did not want to let him in. "Who are you?" they asked. After a short explanation, however, he was allowed inside.

"Success would be to get the Motorists into parliament. Anything above five percent will be a big win," Macinka said before the elections.

He and Turek often recalled last year's "injustice" from the European elections, when analysts predicted the party would get around five percent, but it ended up winning 10.26 percent and two seats. "But these elections are harder. There was more time to damage us, I was shot at brutally. We'll see what effect it will have," Turek commented before the vote.

Motorists have been against the Green Deal and the ban on combustion engines from the beginning. They reject the migration pact, tax increases and inclusion in education. They stand up for motoring and question the impacts of human activity on climate change.

Zdroj: iDnes