Bem accused the director of the NK, Ježek, of failure, and Ježek rejects the accusation

Prague - Prague Mayor Pavel Bém (ODS) today accused the director of the National Library (NK), Vlastimil Ježek, of management failure regarding the development situation concerning the construction of a new library building in Letná. He wants Ježek to take personal responsibility in the case as the head of the library, even while running in the upcoming Senate elections this autumn. However, according to Ježek, Bém is merely continuing his policy of lies; he does not intend to resign from the position of director nor to withdraw from candidacy.
    "After analyzing the European Commission's stance on the case of the new National Library building, I can state the following: the union’s position only confirms my repeated statements about serious mistakes in ordering the international competition, its evident irregularity, the management failure of director Ježek, and also confirms the conclusions of lawyers in the National Library's expert commission," Bém stated. According to him, Ježek should refrain from running for senator, as the position "is associated with the institution of immunity."
    Ježek, who intends to run for election as a People's Party candidate in Prague 9, denied all the accusations. According to him, these are untrue statements. "Pavel Bém, with this blustering statement, is simply continuing his policy of minor and major lies that he has been maintaining since the announcement of the competition results," he told ČTK. He pointed out that the European Commission has not yet issued any statement.
    "Only an unknown official from the EU internal trade directorate created a legal opinion that is entirely non-binding for the Czech Republic. The only body that has the right to decide in specific cases is the Czech Antimonopoly Office," he emphasized.
    He also paused at the fact that Bém states he has analyzed the document. "If he has analyzed it, I assume he has it available. However, the National Library does not have it available yet, and as far as I know, neither does the Ministry of Culture. That is very peculiar," he added.
    According to Ježek, it is a lie that the legal commission reached the same conclusion. "Anyone who looks at the websites of the NK or the city hall knows that the legal commission agreed on the opposite result at its second meeting. Since the second meeting, the lawyers appointed to the commission by the city hall have presumably received a different brief. Since the third meeting, the legal commission has not agreed on anything," he stated.
    Regarding the mayor’s calls for personal responsibility, he remarked: "These are grandiose statements that I will not comment on. A legal opinion, which is neither a position nor a decision, has begun to be communicated through the media. No one knows how the inquiry from the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) to Brussels sounded, and no one knows what the response looks like," he said.
    He also added that in terms of his intention to run for the Senate, Bém's statement has precisely the opposite effect. "If a politician can behave like Bém, then there is all the more reason for a person to try to change such behavior in politics," he stated.
    Earlier, the leadership of the NK, which has been in a long-term dispute with the city hall over the planned new building, indicated that it is considering filing a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator from the city hall. The library pointed out that although Prague representatives had previously preliminarily resolved to sell the land needed for the construction of the new NK building in Letná, the sale has not yet taken place.
    Disputes over the new National Library have lasted for over a year. The new building is supposed to solve the issues regarding storage space for books. However, the construction is impeded by problems related to land, financing, and the regularity of the competition, from which Jan Kaplický's proposal emerged victorious. Culture Minister Václav Jehlička has additionally stated that there is no money for the building, the project is unprepared, and attention must now be focused on the revitalization of Klementinum, where the library is currently located. However, for the NK leadership, the construction of the new building remains a priority.
    Kaplický's proposal was selected by an international jury in early March 2007. The voting was unanimous, and the renowned architect won among more than 400 projects. However, in October, a dispute erupted around the proposal. Prague ODS representatives opposed it.
    This week, the ÚOHS announced that according to the European Commission, the competition for the new NK building was against the law, and following this opinion, the office is likely to recommend that the library cancel the original competition.