Former Czech Communist leader quits party after joining Patriots for Europe

Czech MEP Kateřina Konečná has resigned from the Communist Party after 21 years, following an internal backlash against her decision to join the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament.

The former party chair announced her departure Wednesday, saying she wanted to prevent criticism of her move from damaging the wider party.

Communist Party leader Roman Roun said Konečná would continue working closely with the party, known as KSČM, and promoting its program in Brussels. She does not intend to join another political party, he added.

Konečná’s move to Patriots for Europe angered some Communist colleagues, who argued that the parliamentary group brings together right-wing and anti-communist politicians.

Roun has previously described the group as noncommunist and said he disagreed with her decision. Party deputy chair Milan Krajča also criticized the move, while the Communist Youth Union called for disciplinary consequences.

In her Facebook statement, Konečná portrayed the backlash as an attack driven by unsuccessful party officials. She said she had informed the party’s executive committee Tuesday that she would give up her membership.

Nevertheless, she called for unity and endorsed Roun’s leadership, describing him as a talented politician.

Konečná has defended joining Patriots by saying her voting record already aligned most closely with that group. Membership would give her more scope to pursue her electoral program, she argued, without requiring her to support every position adopted by the group.

She also criticized further fragmentation on the Czech left following its parliamentary election defeat.

Patriots for Europe is the European Parliament’s third-largest political group. Its Czech members include seven ANO MEPs and Antonín Staněk, elected for Přísaha.

Joining a European Parliament group is separate from joining a national political party. Konečná’s departure from KSČM therefore concerns her domestic party membership rather than her seat in the European Parliament.

She has served as an MEP since 2014 and led KSČM from 2021 until May this year, when Roun succeeded her.

Before entering the European Parliament, she served in the Czech Chamber of Deputies from 2002 to 2014. Elected at 21, she was then the chamber’s youngest member.

The Communists contested last year’s parliamentary election through the Stačilo! movement, with Konečná as its national lead candidate. The movement won 4.3 percent of the vote, failing to return the party to the lower house after four years outside parliament.

Konečná subsequently offered her leadership position for reconsideration before the May party congress.

Stačilo!’s other MEP, Ondřej Dostál, remains outside the European Parliament’s political groups, according to ČTK.