The chairman of the South Moravian regional organisation of TOP 09, Marek Sovka, deputy governor of the South Moravian Region, announced on 20 October 2026 that he is leaving for KDU-ČSL. He has long been mayor of Branišovice in the Brno area and was in TOP 09 for almost 14 years.[1]
Scale of the departure
According to Sovka, about thirty people are leaving with him. Deník N reports twenty members and also mentions the three remaining South Moravian TOP 09 councillors. They announced the departure because of the conduct of KDU-ČSL chairman Jan Grolich, with whose party they are in a coalition in the region.[1][2]
Reactions
The chairman of TOP 09, Matěj Ondřej Havel, criticised Grolich for recruiting members of other parties. According to Havel, it concerns a fraction of members, not the departure of the whole organisation, and it threatens future cooperation among opposition parties. TOP 09 deputy chairman Jiří Pospíšil described Grolich's approach as a disservice to this cooperation.[1][2]
Grolich says it was not a coordinated action. According to him, leading members of the South Moravian TOP 09 were dissatisfied and Havel had known about it for a long time. He added that the only thing he coordinated with them was that the departure be announced after the elections.[1]
Related articles: KDU-ČSL, TOP 09
Chronology
- — Marek Sovka, chairman of the South Moravian organisation of TOP 09 and deputy governor of the South Moravian Region, announced his departure to KDU-ČSL. Novinky.cz Deník N
Sources
- Novinky.cz — 20 October 2026
- Deník N — 20 October 2026