Jiří Kraus (21), Smečno — 2026 municipal elections

Main topics

01

culture

We want to develop cultural and social life and support associations that create a good name for our town. Unfortunately, in Smečno we don't have a roof over our heads where we could meet; the hall is outdated and privately owned. So we want to negotiate with the owners about cooperation and a possible sale. We would also create a town museum, as right now there's nowhere to invite tourists and there's no tourist centre. The town of Smečno is very rich in monuments – the chateau, the church, the rectory, small sacred monuments (statues, crosses), the town conservation zone and the oldest organ in Central Europe. The town has a rich history. We'd also like to focus on improving the quality of the local periodical Smečenské ozvěny so that it can compete in quality with other periodicals in the area.

02

public space

I insist that even little things make a place better. That's why we collect suggestions from citizens and compile them into a document of “little things” to improve public space. Whether it's adding benches, bins, trees, repairing kerbs and so on. Simply everything that might bother citizens when they go shopping, to work, to school or for a walk. Within public space we also want to focus on a project that isn't for one electoral term, but perhaps even for two or three. It's the construction of a health centre (1st floor) with a library and a lecture hall + an information centre (ground floor). Thanks to that, the town will save three spaces in total where something new can be, and in the end all the doctors will be under one roof. I'll also focus on the lack of public toilets.

03

open city hall and communication

We want to continue the kind of communication that the new mayor Tomáš Burda started. But we'll add meetings with citizens, unified communication with citizens, videos on social media... What personally bothers us are the minutes of meetings of the executive board, but mainly of the council, cut down to the bare minimum. Nobody can really learn anything from them. The invitation is also published at the latest possible date and in places where people won't see it (which is why so few people take an interest in local politics). We could also add publishing materials for councillors (those that can't particularly jeopardise the proposed agenda item) or filming council meetings.

A few words about me

My name is Jiří Kraus, I'm 21 and I study Public Administration and Records Management at FF UK. My biggest hobby is my native town of Smečno, which has fascinated me since I was 13. Since then I've become an active part of it. A year later I started regularly attending council meetings. Since October 2024 I've been leading Spolek přátel Smečna a širého okolí, and in the past I was a member of the town's Culture Committee for almost three years. I make educational videos about local history and record the memories of eyewitnesses. I also get involved in other projects that make sense and contribute to community life – for example my initiative Zachraňme starý hřbitov, in which we and volunteers cleaned graves over 100 years old several times and straightened several of them, cleaned the area around the family tomb, built a shelter for tools, and for all that work we were also thanked by the Austrian Count Clam - Martinic, whose family's tomb is in the old cemetery. The association I lead focuses on organising cultural and music events, talks, history walks, discussions with interesting guests, pub quizzes and so on. Last year 41 events took place, this year around 55 are planned, and partly thanks to that we're the biggest movers and shakers in a town of 2,000 in the Kladno area. In my free time I like spending time with friends, I go to cultural and social events, I'm interested in history and public affairs, I listen to and love music (and I like focusing on cover versions), and when I can, I go out on my bike.

The candidate's texts have been machine-translated from Czech.

Links and social media

@jiri_kraus_ Website Facebook

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