Interview: Expats.cz Q&A with Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib

The mayor offered insights on economic recovery from coronavirus, tourism, and the need for Prague to become a smart city

Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas

Written by Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas Published on 28.07.2020 12:54:12 (updated on 28.07.2020) Reading time: 1 minute

The Expats.cz team recently had a chance to sit down with Zdeněk Hřib (Pirate Party), by far one of the most popular — though his detractors might say for all the wrong reasons — Prague mayors in recent memory.

We spoke to Mayor Hřib in the midst of what has proven to be a particularly volatile term, one that has seen his administration tackling the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent economic impact of the virus on the city of Prague.

We also asked the mayor to address a number of questions from our readers among them, the problem of finding affordable housing in Prague, his plans for tackling the Airbnb issue, and how the city plans to encourage the right kind of tourism as Prague rebuilds in the shadow of the lingering COVID crisis.

He addressed how the city is preparing for a possible next wave and the importance of getting Prague up-to-speed as a smart city in all matters from testing to apply for transport passes and other services.

Most importantly we asked him what the city was doing for foreigners and how his team is currently helping our integration in Prague easier. In some lighter moments, the mayor sympathized with us over the pain of visiting government offices, the botched bikes-in-the-center ban, offered tips for exploring Prague, and politely declined a couple of marriage proposals.

See the full live interview, recorded on July 17 at the Mayor’s office on Mariánské náměstí in Prague’s Old Town here.

Video credit: Jiří Zeman at IREK prod_ 

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