The two previous interviews for our magazine reflected rather difficult situations in society – first in regards to the COVID-19 epidemic, later the war in Ukraine. Even though it may seem that the times have calmed down, one of the longest-serving mayors in Prague, David Vodrážka, disabused me of that notion.
Are times right now calmer compared to say a year or two ago?
On the contrary. Covid settled down, but the war in Ukraine is having a major impact on us. The initial euphoria and excitement when everyone wanted to help Ukraine has died down and people have sobered up. The issues related to the conflict aren't as visible, but they do seep into a lot of areas. One such area is the education system. The latest enrollment saw nearly 51 percent of Ukrainian children signing up for certain schools. Nothing against Ukraine, but it can be difficult to manage teaching when you have three foreign language-speaking children in a class, so imagine what it's like when there are fifteen. It's not about intelligence, the kids are smart, but rather the language barrier. One of the options would be launching a class solely for Ukrainian children, but it's our last resort. If we separated the Ukrainians, they would start building communities and would never become a part of our society, pick up our customs.
I can imagine that the parents of Czech children aren't exactly excited about that...
It's an issue of large cities and Prague primarily. Communities, such as the Vietnamese in the past, tend towards large cities. So, when you're seeking support for a potential systemic solution, be it at the Ministry of Education or in the Chamber of Deputies, most of those who don't live in Prague have little sympathy for your problems. We're trying to resolve this specific situation by increasing the capacities of elementary schools and kindergartens to reduce the ratio of foreign language students in each class.
What other areas are impacted by the conflict in Ukraine?
Security without a doubt. I shouldn't mention this for the sake of political correctness, but I must say that we've seen a marked increase in crime rates in the last year, year and a half. I don't mean to blame purely the Ukrainians or any other minorities. We're growing ever closer to the Western world with everything that entails, meaning also higher crime rates in cities. And besides security, it impacts other areas such as healthcare. People can say what they want, but our healthcare system is one of the best in the world, which costs us a decent amount of money. The issue is that the number of doctors and the amount of money in healthcare isn't growing while the volume of patients is. This has shown primarily in extended waiting times for appointments with specialist doctors.
Parking zones have long been a topic of contention. What about Prague 13 and parking today?
Parking is plaguing the people of Prague 13 the most. I have on hand the results of a survey conducted on a representative sample of roughly 1080 people, which shows that 72 percent of respondents are resolutely against parking zones. I'm not in favor of zones either. First, I'm a representative of the people, which doesn't mean that I'm a populist but I'm not going to go against their will. And second, we wouldn't be offering any added value to local residents by implementing parking zones right now; we'd just be taking money from their pockets. Another facet of this issue is the high number of commuters from the outskirts of Prague who prefer to look for free parking around housing estates instead of using the available parking spaces in the car park we've constructed where 24-hour parking costs 50 crowns. I'll throw my support behind the implementation of parking zones once the planned high-capacity car park with three thousand spaces is built in Zličín, where the majority of commuters will be concentrated. We're also planning one additional car park, which is to be built in the Lužiny area.
The meeting of Prague district mayors was attended by, among others, (left to right) Mayor of Praha VInoř Michal Biskup, Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Sobota, David Vodrážka, Chairman of the PCA Transportation Committee Martin Sedeke, and Mayor of Prague 9 Tomáš Portlík
You've been a mayor for six election terms in a row now. Have you ever considered quitting?
Every moment. Or rather every time we receive a complaint. Human stupidity can really get my hackles up from time to time. But that's the same at any other job. And I really do enjoy my work as a mayor. I was born in the Thirteen, we're fourth-generation locals, I know it well, I was there as a little boy when the housing estates were being built, I know a lot of the people here personally. Prague 13, despite being nearly 70 thousand inhabitants strong, is still a village, and there is only a certain subset of people who are active and whom I meet with regularly. Then there's the silent majority, whom I don't know and who isn't interested in knowing me, just living its life. But that's alright because if everyone were active, we'd be going crazy. [laughs] I've always wanted to stay in Prague 13 and I fought hard to achieve that. I came from the Thirteen and I owe it a debt. Exactly this kind of continuity is what I find important.
Have your closest colleagues also been in office for twenty years?
Two of my deputy mayors have been with me for just one election term less than I've been in office. Some might say that this is a fossilized notion, but I like to say that every change is for the worse. And the worst thing is when a new person comes in and wants to do good. They start coming up with some incredible ideas, wanting to help out on one end, but ultimately seeing things crumble on the other. My philosophy is simple. The district shouldn't be in debt for a long time, which means that I treat the office's money the same as I do my own, and if I do take out a loan, it has to be for something meaningful. Before the Covid pandemic, I was under immense pressure to build a community pool or a water park in the Thirteen. I was very much against it, and I'm happy now that I managed to stand up to that pressure. I can't even imagine what it would be like to finance the operations at today's energy prices; it would be a massive burden for the budget. I don't subscribe to the idea that every city district should have its own community pool. We're not interested in a measuring contest here focused on which mayor builds himself a memorial in the form of a community pool, but rather in making sure the grass is cut, the streets are clean, the buses come on time, the kids can get to school, etc. Basic services need to function first, only then can we start thinking about building something extra.
And is that going well?
Yes. I'm glad that we're managing the maintenance of Central Park, which is a favored spot among the Thirteen's inhabitants, that we have the new town hall building, and even that we managed to refurbish the cultural center. These are not cliches like when somebody decides to plant a tree before an election, but rather conceptual matters. I work in a way that allows me to do the most I can for the people in the time allotted to me, to make sure they can live better lives here. And the most important thing for me is the fact that I can go to a pub without the fear of getting beat up by the locals. Discussing certain topics is another matter. But if I were to have the reputation of a thief and a criminal, I couldn't even stick my head in the door, and that would mean I really couldn't live here any longer.
You are also a member of the Prague City Assembly. That has to be a good thing for the Thirteen's operations, no?
I enjoy being a Prague assemblyman and it's undoubtedly a major boon for our office. I have the opportunity to influence a plethora of matters, be it the aforementioned parking, the funding we receive, and so on. Circling back to increased school capacities, which I mentioned initially – we'll need 40 million crowns in funding from the Capital, and I'll be in a much better position to negotiate for that money as a Prague assemblyman. A regional president or a city mayor being in the Chamber of Deputies is similarly beneficial.
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At an opening of the refurbished playground close to the U Bobříka kindergarten
CV BOX
David Vodrážka (born on March 23, 1971, in Prague) is one of the longest-serving mayors in Prague, holding the seat of mayor in Prague's 13th district continuously since 2002.
He graduated from the Hradec Králové Faculty of Education and the University of Finance and Administration.
He joined ODS in 1998, being the party's first vice-chair between 2008 and 2010. He was an MP in the Chamber of Deputies from 2010 until the 2013 snap election, holding the post of chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
He'd also spent a short time being the chair of the Prague Public Transit Company board of directors. He has been a member of the Prague City Assembly since 2018, which is a position he held between 2006 and 2010 as well.
Vodrážka is married, has three children, and lives in Prague.
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