Illustration photo – Former Prague mayor Pavel Bém.
Prague – Former Prague mayor Pavel Bém (ODS) has his place in the capital city's anti-drug commission. His professional competence is unquestionable, newly elected mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) told journalists today. Bém became a member of the commission as a representative of Spolu (ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL) and, according to Deník N, he already participated in the first meeting. The commission is an advisory body of city councilors and its members include, among others, addiction experts, prevention experts and Prague representatives.
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“He really knows a lot about the drug issue, he has been dealing with it for a long time. His opinions and views on how to act are a strong opinion based on knowledge, knowledge and lifelong activity. And you cannot rule out such an opinion, if you want to fight such a problem as drugs,” said Svoboda. According to his words, he has known Bém since his professional beginnings.
Bém told Deník N that he is not going into politics because of his workload. At the same time, he stated that he is one of the longest-serving experts on the anti-drug issue and is rightly proud of how he and his colleagues set it up in the 1990s and that it belongs to the best in the European Union.
The commission has 18 members and is an advisory body of councilors to whom it recommends individual steps, but does not have decision-making powers. The chairperson is Martina Richterová-Těmínová, an addictologist from the non-profit organization Sananim. In addition to Bém, other addictologists such as Ivan Douda, Vojtěch Janouškovec and Petr Popov are also members. Its representatives are the opposition MPs Kamila Matějková (Praha Sobě) and Lenka Vedralová (ANO).
Bém was the mayor of Prague from 2002 to 2010, when Svoboda succeeded him. He was then a deputy until the early elections in 2013. He subsequently withdrew from politics and returned to his original profession. He also works at the Addiction Clinic of the 1st Faculty of Medicine and at the General University Hospital in Prague.
