The Mayors and Independents ( cs, Starostové a nezávislí), abbreviated to STAN, is a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

that is focused on localism and

subsidiarity Subsidiarity is a principle of social organization that holds that social and political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate or local level that is consistent with their resolution. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines subsidi ...

. The party grew out of four minor parties, including

Independent Mayors for the Region The Mayors and Independents ( cs, Starostové a nezávislí), abbreviated to STAN, is a liberal political party in the Czech Republic that is focused on localism and subsidiarity. The party grew out of four minor parties, including Independe ...

, which allied itself with the

liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

SNK European Democrats The SNK European Democrats ( cs, SNK Evropští demokraté) is a political party in the Czech Republic, led by Zdeňka Marková. The first regular chairperson of this party was Jana Hybášková. The party was created in January 2006 by the m ...

, and cooperated with the similarly liberal-conservative

TOP 09 TOP 09 (name derived from cs, Tradice Odpovědnost Prosperita, lit=Tradition Responsibility Prosperity) is a liberal-conservative political party in the Czech Republic, led by Markéta Pekarová Adamová. TOP 09 holds 14 seats in the Chamber ...

until 2016. It holds 33 seats in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, and is the third strongest party by number of seats following the 2021 election. In the 2013 election to the

, STAN won five seats on the TOP 09 list: Jan Farský, Stanislav Polčák, Věra Kovářová, František Vácha and acting leader

Petr Gazdík Petr Gazdík (born 26 June 1974) is a Czech politician who has been member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2010. He served as Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic in the Cabinet of Petr Fiala from December 2021 to Ju ...

. In the

Czech Senate The Senate (), literally "Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic", is the upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague. Structure The Senate has 81 members, chosen in s ...

, STAN has four members. The party competes separately in local government elections. In the 2010 local elections, the party won 1,243 councillors, making it the sixth-largest party on local councils. In the 2017 election to the

, STAN won six seats:

, Jan Farský, Věra Kovářová,

Vít Rakušan Vít Rakušan (born 16 June 1978) is a Czech pedagogue and politician who has served as the leader of the Mayors and Independents (STAN) political party since 2019 and its 1st vice-chairman from 2016 to 2019. He has been a member of the Chamber o ...

Martin Půta Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

(who was replaced by

Petr Pavek Petr is a Czech given name for males and a Czech surname. Petr is the Czech form of ''Peter''. For information on Petr as a first name, see Peter (given name). Given name * Petr Aven (born 1955), Russian billionaire banker, economist and politi ...

) and Jana Krutáková. The party contested the 2021 Czech parliamentary election as part of the coalition

Pirates and Mayors Pirates and Mayors ( cs, Piráti a Starostové) was a liberal progressive centrist political alliance in the Czech Republic, formed for the 2021 legislative election, consisting of the Czech Pirate Party (Piráti) and Mayors and Independents (S ...

with the

Czech Pirate Party The Czech Pirate Party or Pirates ( cs, Česká pirátská strana , abbreviated ''Piráti'' ) is a liberal progressive political party in the Czech Republic, founded in 2009. The party was founded as a student-driven grassroots movement campaig ...

History

STAN grew out of NSK (''Nezávislí starostové pro kraj'', Independent Mayors for the Region), founded in 2004 and transformed in 2009. Led by its first Leader Petr Gazdík and Deputy Leader Stanislav Polčák elected in 2009, STAN started co-operating with the liberal-conservative TOP 09 at all political levels; with Petr Gazdík leading the TOP 09 and STAN parliamentary group. In 2013, the said co-operation was de facto curtailed to the parliamentary level, i.e. was continued only in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. In 3/2014, Petr Gazdík was succeeded in the STAN leadership by Martin Půta (Governor, Liberecký Region); and became the First Deputy Leader deputised by Stanislav Polčák. Sharing common candidates standing in the 2014 European Parliament election, STAN and TOP 09 polled 15.95% of the votes and gained four seats with one being taken by STAN Deputy Leader Stanislav Polčák. In 2016, Martin Půta was succeeded by Petr Gazdík leading STAN into the regional and Senate elections. In 2019

was elected as a new leader. In 2020 STAN won the Senate elections (with 11 seats of 27 contested).

Manifesto

The party's top priorities include: good stewardship, high-quality education, environmental care and heritage protection – investing in education is key to the future prosperity that, however, must be built on the principles of good stewardship (management of public funds, use of energy resources and prudential landscape interventions). In promoting the principle of subsidiarity, STAN encourages localism, decentralisation, reduced bureaucracy and corruption clampdown. STAN further promotes: European integration, high-quality education, investments in science, state economy driven by the principles of a free market with the social aspect and sanctity of private property in mind, and environment protection.

Election results

Chamber of Deputies

Senate

¹ By-election in Zlín district.
² By-election in Trutnov district.
³ By-election in Prague-9 district.

Presidential election

European Parliament

Regional election

¹ Does not include coalitions

Leaders

Josef Zicha Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

(2005–2009) *

(2009–2014) *

(2014–2016) *

(2016–2019) *

(Since 2019)

Footnotes

External links

Mayors and Independents official website
{{Czech political parties Centrist political parties in the Czech Republic Centre-right parties in Europe Liberal parties in the Czech Republic Political parties established in 2004 Regionalist parties in the Czech Republic Pro-European political parties in the Czech Republic 2004 establishments in the Czech Republic