A new party could appear on the political scene. Prague 1 councilor for transport Vojtěch Ryvola wants to establish it. A man with a massive beard who lives on a boat moored on the Vltava in the center of the metropolis. He was a member of ANO for ten years, but left this year. He criticized the “privatization of the movement” and the fact that only a small closed group decides everything. Now he joins other disaffected politicians.
Vojtěch Ryvola relies on his long beard, which he has been growing for several years, and he is proud of his very unconventional residence. Its home is the large ship Pivovar, which is moored on the Vltava and also serves as a restaurant, beer hall and brewery. “It’s a special place because this is the only ship in the world where we also brew and store beer,” he says.
He appreciates living on the river in the city center. “It’s nice to be woken up by swans,” he says right on the boat at sunrise, running his hand through his beard, which reaches far down his chest without a rubber band.
Although the ship is 53 meters long, eight meters wide and has room for 280 people inside, his own living quarters are very modest. “Come down,” he points, heading down the deck into the engine room. In the corner there is a bed and a bookshelf on which lie several books by Winston Churchill.
Part of the “apartment” is also a shower with a sink, above which there is a small window with a view of the surface of the Vltava. “I’m happy here, I don’t miss anything,” he says, proudly pointing to the kitchen, which is considerably larger than the rest of his home.
According to him, he stopped cutting his beard the moment he bought a plot of land in Děčín for the construction of a shopping center. He worked in this field for many years, the family company managed fifty centers, later he also worked in an investment and development company. “I told myself that until I built the center, I wouldn’t cut my beard short. And when I built it, I already felt sorry for destroying such beauty. I’m not a beardless man.”
He also entered politics in Děčín. Immediately after the foundation of the ANO movement in 2012, he became its supporter, and two years later became a member. This was followed by a move to the metropolis, after the last elections he became a councilor for transport in Prague 1. For example, he advocated a fundamental restriction on the entry of cars into the city center. The first swallow was a nighttime ban on entry to the Old Town, but officials canceled it again after a few hours at the instigation of Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda.
“I want to break down terrifying barricades”
But Ryvol’s plans for a political party are even more worthy of attention. Although the councilor says that he and his colleagues have so far only founded an association, according to information from Aktuálně.cz, he is convincing other people to join him in a joint project. Among them are, for example, his former party members from ANO, who, like him, left the movement.
“However, it is far from just former members of ANO, I talk to a lot of other people from other parties or non-party members. I founded the association with two former members of the Pirates,” says Ryvola.
He left the ANO movement because, according to him, it was privatized in Prague by the local leadership led by Ondřej Prokop, head of the representative club. “I wanted the entire membership base in Prague to decide, and not just the narrow leadership. Unfortunately, I failed. So I’m not in ANO, but I remain a dissatisfied citizen exactly according to when ANO was founded, then it was the Action of Dissatisfied Citizens,” he explains.
According to him, what bothers him the most is the division of Czech society. “I would like to break down the terrifying barricades between people, when we are divided into mask wearers and non-mask wearers, vaccinated and unvaccinated, Ukrainians and Russophiles. These groups need to be connected, because today’s fights lead to nothing,” he says.
However, he does not want to reveal more about his political plans. “Everything is at the beginning, you are the first journalist to know about the project. I would like to present it in full glory when it is finished,” he adds. But he indicated that he wants to bet on the young. “I want to visit them and listen to them so that their opinion and voice are heard. I would like to convince young people, but not only them, that politics is not a dirty word and it can be done decently,” adds the former long-time member of the Andrej Babiš movement.
Video: I am looking for people all over the country, says the councilor of Prague 1, who is planning a new party
Aktuálně.cz visited the unusual “home” of Vojtěch Ryvola, whose ship is moored on the Vltava, and asked him what he thinks about founding a new party. | Video: Radek Bartoníček
