The Most Prestigious Electoral Battleground? Parties Deploy Their Stars in the Central Bohemian Region, Where the Stakes Are Highest
- Filip Turek
- Sep 4
- 3 min read
In parliamentary elections, one rule has so far always applied: whoever wins in the Central Bohemian Region subsequently takes a seat in the government. The fourth part of the Election Diary series focuses on this key region, home to nearly 1.5 million residents and still growing. Migration both to and from Prague strengthens its position even further, making it one of the main electoral battlegrounds.
The Central Bohemian Region has the highest number of eligible voters and produced nearly one-eighth of the current Chamber of Deputies—26 MPs in total. This makes it extremely important for the national outcome.
Four years ago, the Spolu coalition won here and went on to form the government. In the 2017 and 2013 elections, ANO took first place and also participated in governing. In 2010 and 2006, ODS won; in 2002 and 1998, ČSSD; and in 1996, ODS again.
Looking at how Central Bohemians vote, one can, with some exaggeration, predict who will form the next cabinet. Except for 2013, the party that triumphed in Central Bohemia also produced the prime minister, and in every case was part of the governing coalition.
As the largest and most populous region, Central Bohemia is also highly diverse internally and often considered a microcosm of the entire Czech Republic.
“The issues that politicians try to use to reach voters, especially in the Central Bohemian Region, can be quite a tough nut to crack. This is due to the diversity of the region and the different questions and problems that various areas face,” explained Uhrová from the STEM analytical institute.
While people living closer to Prague tend to have higher incomes and education, families with lower incomes are more common in the region’s outer areas. The higher the poverty and socio-economic disadvantage, the more votes opposition forces tend to gather there. Conversely, the better off a locality is, the more likely it is to vote for the current governing parties.
“In the ring around Prague, voter attitudes are closer to how Prague itself votes. But peripheral areas face different issues—transport accessibility is often crucial, as is the availability of certain services, infrastructure, healthcare, or schools,” the sociologist added.
National Stars
Political parties are well aware of the importance of the Central Bohemian Region. This is evidenced by the fact that they have placed nationally well-known figures at the top of their candidate lists here.
For STAN and SPD, these are their chairmen Vít Rakušan and Tomio Okamura. Motoristé sobě fielded their honorary president Filip Turek, the Pirates their former chairman Ivan Bartoš, the Spolu coalition ODS deputy chairman Martin Kupka, ANO former education minister Robert Plaga, and Stačilo! Jana Bobošíková.
“These are nationally known politicians, extremely important for the nationwide debate. This makes Central Bohemia resemble national-level politics,” said Aleš Michal of the Institute of Political Studies at Charles University.
According to sociologist Uhrová, leaders play a crucial role in large regions.
“Recently, we’ve seen Czech politics become strongly personalized—voters judge parties based on who heads their candidate list.”
“Parties must place strong personalities in this region—figures who have the potential to reach beyond their traditional electorate. I think ANO’s strategy in these elections reflects this: they put Robert Plaga at the head of their Central Bohemian list,” Michal noted.
Plaga is no longer a core ANO member, and as education minister he was broadly respected. Even the current governing coalition initially kept him on as deputy minister. According to Michal, it would not make sense for ANO to put forward a sharply partisan candidate in the Central Bohemian Region. Education—Plaga’s area of expertise—is also one of the pressing issues here.
Smaller opposition and more radical parties, such as SPD or Stačilo!, chose figures who polarize the public more strongly.
“I think opposition parties accommodated one another by not having both Andrej Babiš and Tomio Okamura running head-to-head in the same region. This is quite important for shaping electoral strategy and also ties into the internal diversity of the region,” Michal added.
Choosing Turek as the leader of Motoristé sobě in the Central Bohemian Region also seems rational, particularly because of the Mladá Boleslav area, the center of the Czech automotive industry.
Source: iROZHLAS
