The position of Prague’s mayor Andrea Krnáčová is now under threat, with real estate and construction problems at the heart of her problems. The collapse of the footbridge near Prague’s zoo last December may be a slightly obvious metaphor for the fate of her administration. But it could prove to be the final straw for the mayor’s career. City-wide elections are coming up this fall and her party, ANO, is losing ground. Will she be sacrificed before then? The answer lies with the party’s boss, Andrej Babiš.
The most common complaints heard against her according to CIJ sources are echoed in today’s issue of Hospodářské noviny: “The construction of transport infrastructure has stopped, few new flats are being built and prices are rising, and the Troja footbridge across the Vltava river is closed.” And on top of this, the city has suddenly stopped pretending that the Libeň bridge was safe, an admission that forced its immediate and long-term closure for repairs. Other bridges are thought to be in similarly dire straits.
