Tuhý himself, who served as ambassador in Bratislava between 2018 and 2023, does not want to talk much about his new engagement. “I returned home with my family after years. I am still evaluating my next plans. I am not yet decided in which direction I will take my next steps,” said Tomáš Tuhý, adding that a possible entry into politics would be a big change: “I want to make the right decision for my family as well.”
According to information from Seznam Zpráv, Andrej Babiš arrived in Ostrava a few days ago and announced the name of the candidate for governor as a given to the surprised ANO members. But not all party members were happy about it.
The fight for the post
Northern Moravia is a traditional stronghold for ANO, in any election there it almost automatically gets at least 30 percent of the vote and clearly wins. After Ivo Vondrák left the movement and the post of governor this year due to long-term disputes, Babiš was looking for a replacement.
However, two long-time ANO members in the region are considering the post of regional election leader, and have even been fighting a classic internal party battle for months. The first is Jan Krkoška, who replaced Vondrák in the position of governor this June. The second is deputy and mayor of Havířov Josef Bělica.
“We have a process of selection and election of candidates given by the statutes, anyone can apply. The assemblies of local, regional and regional organizations decide,” says Krkoška, adding that nothing has been definitively decided. “I’m not afraid of competition, on the contrary, I welcome it. The parliaments are yet to take place,” adds Bělica.
However, they forget that Andrej Babiš pushed for a change in the movement’s statutes years ago. According to them, the ANO presidency has the opportunity to nominate candidates for all types of elections and then finally approves the composition of the candidates.
Conflict in rebellious Ostrava
In rebellious Ostrava, Babiš’s intervention may cause conflict. Locals say that thanks to years of work in the ANO movement, they have a natural claim to the post – certainly greater than Tuhý. That’s why they still want to discuss the idea with Babiš this coming weekend.
The leader of the movement did not respond to the sent question why he was proposing the former police chief. His intention shows that he plans to put a lot of emphasis on security as a topic in the context of the refugee crisis in the campaign. It may also be inspired by the ODS, which also attracted former police chief Martin Červíček to its ranks. And the move was successful, he became a senator and governor in the Hradec Králové region.
Tomáš Tuhy
* master’s degree at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ostrava
* doctoral studies at the Faculty of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering at VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava
* Chief of Police (2014–2018)
* Ambassador to Slovakia (2018–2023)
Tomáš Tuhý, a former favorite of President Miloš Zeman, is currently looking for a job. He had a promise that after returning from Slovakia he would head to Slovenia as an ambassador. It has even already received the so-called agrément, i.e. the approval of the host country. But Petr Fiala’s government canceled it with the justification that only career diplomats are posted abroad, which Tuhý is not.
