Abstract
For last sixteen years, the mayor of Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) was a member of ODS (Občanská demokratická strana), until recently the dominant center-right party in the Czech Republic. In this year's elections, however, ODS won only one seat in the town council.
The unlikely but clear winner of the elections is the Czech Pirate Party while the political movement ANO 2011 came in second. The Pirates form a part of the international grassroots movement, which is based on voluntary work of its members, on the principles of direct and deliberative democracy, and on the ideals of almost absolute transparency of public administration.
ANO 2011, on the other hand, is a protest ("anti-political") movement founded by billionaire Andrej Babiš. The movement is often called the party of one man who wants to ""manage the state as a firm."" After the last elections, the Pirates and ANO formed a coalition that has presented an ambitious 4-year program for the town.
The program mentions in the first place the ""transparent and accountable management of the town"" (which includes the ""widest possible use of modern management methods"") and the ""civic participation in decision-making"" (which includes the ""electronic communication system with a guaranteed time for response to the citizens' proposals and complaints""). The article will provide an assessment of the progress made by the new governing coalition in meeting these objectives.