South Moravia Governor Jan Grolich will run for leader of the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) at the party’s congress in April, he told reporters today, adding that this position will also help him gain space to prepare the party for the next parliamentary elections.
Grolich, 41, told a press conference this morning that voters need to be presented with a new offer. “Today’s political scene lacks a strong opposition party, and the Christian Democrats will be that party,” said Grolich.
According to Grolich, KDU-CSL must focus more on solving people’s problems, gain economic competence, and change the way it works as an opposition party. He wants to bring a candidate for the next finance minister into the party.
Grolich sees the formation of a caretaker cabinet as a way out of the current situation in Czech politics, which is dominated by problems within the coalition government of ANO, Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and Motorists.
Current KDU-CSL leader Marek Vyborny announced earlier today that he would not be defending his post at the conference, as new leadership is needed to appeal to a broader platform of centrist voters. He said that KDU-CSL is a well-established and largely successful party with a clearly defined program that defends the interests of families, seniors, and people living in rural areas, but that significant change is needed to achieve greater success.
“After discussions with new members, with new Christian Democrats, I see that this impetus can really come today, and that it is realistic to hand over the party at the April congress to someone who can responsibly continue my work,” he said. He recalled that he had been persuading Grolich to run for the party leadership at the congress in 2024.
Vyborny, 49, has been at the helm of the Christian Democrats since October 2024. He was previously elected leader in the spring of 2019, but resigned in November of the same year following the death of his wife. He was replaced by Marian Jurecka in January 2020.
He said he intends to remain a member of parliament and will focus on education and rural issues. He noted that his decision to stand down as leader was not due to fatigue, but rather to make room for new personalities.
In the parliamentary elections held last autumn, KDU-CSL ran as part of the Spolu coalition with the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and TOP 09. Spou lost to the ANO movement, which formed a government with Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the Motorists. KDU-CSL won 16 seats in the elections to the lower house of parliament. At the beginning of the previous term, it had 23 seats.
At their congress in Ostrava on 24-25 April, the Christian Democrats will not only elect new leaders, but will also prepare for the municipal and Senate elections scheduled for this autumn. “We are in the very hot phase of preparation,” Vyborny noted.
Political analyst Ales Michal, from Charles University in Prague, told CTK that there are high hopes for Grolich. “The Christian Democrats also want to build their own brand, one that will stand out from other opposition parties,” said Michal. “From a marketing perspective, Jan Grolich is undoubtedly experienced, distinctive, and popular. However, I think that marketing alone, which has so far been limited to close ties within Spolu and only to South Moravia, will not work on its own.”
Michal said that Grolich will need to build a strong position within the party, which will require him to be part of a certain school of thought. “I haven’t seen anything like that from Grolich so far, so it will be interesting to see how he behaves at the congress and what pragmatic agreements his candidacy will be part of,” he added.
Grolich said he will be running for the senate in the autumn elections, and he sees these elections as important for maintaining democracy in the country.
The new coalition government holds a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, but not in the Senate.
If he is elected as senator, Grolich wants to continue as governor of the South Moravia Region. He said he sees the two positions as complementary.
Grolich said the KDU-CSL needs to submit its own proposals for debate in the lower house, but it will also support proposals of the current cabinet if it considers them good.
