Newcomers on Marianske Square.
Zdeněk Hřib is the new mayor of the Czech capital. He is the third Neprazian in the order, after Adriana Krnáčová and Tomáš Hudeček. The decision to send a pirate to lead the city resulted from seemingly consensual negotiations between the three political groups that came second to fourth in the October municipal elections. All of these entities show some rather worrying signs. This is particularly evident in the current period, when Prague needs a strong, qualified and, above all, cohesive collective of practitioners who will oil the rusty municipal machinery without much hesitation and, with a resignation to personal ambition, return the confidence of the citizens of Prague in the city's leadership. What to think of the pirates, who do not have much usable experience in Prague's municipal politics and yet insist on the mayor's chain? They are ignoring the risk of the abandoned ruler syndrome and hastily installing one of their media-blind corsairs on the captain's bridge. How to look at the new entity, Prague to Itself, with a somewhat underwhelming name, apparently motivated by the recently scientifically questioned system of financing the construction of the National Theatre in Prague? It is certainly a well-prepared project that perceives the uniqueness of the opportunity that presents itself. Paradoxically, however, this may be the main obstacle to a successful mission that requires something other than ambition. The Joint Force, with its catchy acronym in the form of two eponymous initials, is a multi-stakeholder association. Nomen omen. But is it wise to pin high hopes on a political party that has one last bastion left (Prague) to defend its lost position in national politics? How to evaluate the signal sent by the leaders of their parties that they will either be mayors or will not participate in the city's leadership at all? Is it a vain ultimatum or a statesmanlike perspective? Despite all doubts, it is fair to let the new Prague representation show what it can do. The period until the end of January 2019 might be enough to see whether Marian Square is a uniformly rowing gallery or a bunch of drowning non-swimmers.