Jiří Čunek
Jiří Čunek (born February 22, 1959 in Gottwaldov ) is a Czech politician .
Life
Jiří Čunek worked as a car mechanic and engineer. In 1990 he joined the Czech Christian Democratic Party ( KDU-ČSL ) and was elected mayor of the Moravian city of Vsetín in 1998 .
In October 2006, Čunek, who was only locally known in the Czech Republic, gained significant media coverage when, shortly before the Senate and local elections , he forcibly removed several hundred Roma who refused to pay rents and electricity bills from the communal apartments in downtown Vsetín and assigned them a container estate on the outskirts or other quarters. This measure, which was largely welcomed by the local population, brought him criticism from human rights organizations, who also gave him statements such as B. "I'm only removing an ulcer, the doctors do that too." The local elections were successful for Čunek, he also succeeded in entering the Czech Senate . He was elected as the bearer of hope for his party in crisis and on December 9, 2006, as party leader.
During this time, accusations against Čunek were made from various quarters. In February 2002, as mayor of Vsetín, he is said to have been bribed by a real estate company with the equivalent of 18,000 euros. His former secretary accused him of sexual harassment. These allegations could not be proven at first, so that in the summer of 2007 the Czech public prosecutor's office closed the investigation.
Since January 9, 2007, the KDU-ČSL was involved in the government of Mirek Topolánek . Čunek received the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development. The coalition partners - the ODS and the Greens - increasingly perceived it as a burden. In addition to the allegations mentioned, the reason was new polarizing statements. In the readers' forum of the tabloid Blesk , Čunek replied to a question about the use of financial resources for social issues: “You have to go somewhere and get a tan, have a row with the family, make a fire in the market square; some politicians only then take up the matter and say: poor man. ”Politicians from all parties condemned this statement, which was obviously directed against Roma. Čunek could still rely on the majority of his KDU-ČSL, without which the government would not have been able to survive.
At the end of October 2007, it was discovered by journalists that Čunek had temporarily received social benefits from the state during the 1990s, but at the same time had significant amounts of money in his accounts. As a result, the majority of the Christian Democratic MPs withdrew their trust. Čunek resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister on November 7, 2007, but remained party leader.
The person of Čunek also strained relations between the Czech Republic and the USA after the aforementioned affairs were included in the 2007 human rights report of the US State Department.
After lengthy disputes within the governing coalition - especially between his party and the Greens - Jiří Čunek returned to his government offices on April 2, 2008. The Greens - especially Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg - made it a condition that Čunek had its financial affairs examined by independent auditors. This exonerated Jiří Čunek in July 2008 from the allegation of financial irregularities.
On January 12, 2009 Čunek resigned after disagreements with Mirek Topolánek regarding a government reshuffle from his government offices. He stood on May 30, 2009 at the party congress in Vsetín for re-election as chairman, but was eliminated in the first ballot. His successor was Cyril Svoboda .
In August 2009, the incumbent Justice Minister Kovářová filed an extraordinary motion to reopen the investigation into the allegations of corruption.
In the 2012 Senate elections, Čunek was re-elected to the Senate with 47.28% in the first ballot and 72.13% in the runoff election . 2014–2017 he again took over the office of mayor in Vsetin. With Čunek as the top candidate, the KDU-CSL became the strongest political force in the 2016 regional elections in the Zlin region . In addition to his senatorial office, Čunek was elected Hejtman (captain) of the region after the elections. Čunek then ran again on May 27, 2017 in the elections for chairman of the KDU-ČSL, but was clearly defeated by the incumbent Pavel Bělobrádek with 16% of the delegate's votes .
Jiří Čunek has been married since 1982 and has four daughters.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Já čistím jenom od vředů. To dělají lékaři taky. “ Zpravy.idnes.cz
- ↑ "To se budete muset jet někam opálit, začít dělat s rodinou binec, na náměstí dělat ohně, a potom se vás teprve někteří politici zastanou a řeknou - on je chudák." Zpravy.idnes.cz
- ↑ 2007 US State Department Human Rights Report
- ↑ www.idnes.cz April 2, 2008
- ↑ ČTK, July 13, 2008 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ idnes.cz, January 12, 2009, accessed January 12, 2009
- ↑ zpravy.idnes.cz of August 18, 2009, accessed on August 19, 2009
- ↑ Result on www.volby.cz (Czech)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Čunek, Jiří |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 22, 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gottwaldov |