Blue Team (Czech politics)

Blue Team kiosk during an election campaign in Brno

In Czech politics, the Blue Team (Czech: Modrý tým) was a members organisation of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), whose purpose, as stated on its website, was to help at ODS meetings, promote right-wing political ideas, promote the team itself, analyse opinion polls, and recruit new members.

History

The Blue Team was founded on 29 April 2009, inspired by similar projects in other countries.^[1] It was first used during the 2009 European parliament election campaign, after which Mirek Topolánek stated that the Blue Team helped ODS win the election.^[2]

During a meeting in May 2010, members of the Blue Team played airsoft, prompting Jaroslav Tvrdík, campaign manager of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), to accuse the Blue Team of training commandos to interrupt ČSSD meetings, and compare the Blue Team with the Nazi Party. ODS responded that Tvrdík's interpretation was "mentally invalid",^[3] and the Blue Team sued Tvrdík for slander.^[4] On 1 July 2011, a court ordered the ČSSD leadership to apologise for Tvrdík's comments.^[5]

Other Blue Team activities include helping to clear damage following floods,^[6] and the 2013 legislative election campaign.^[7] Mirek Topolánek, Jan Zahradil, Evžen Tošenovský, Edvard Kožušník and other party officials appeared at meetings with members of the team.

The Blue Team ceased its activity in 2015, and was replaced by Supporters of ODS.^[8]

Membership

Notable members

• Tomáš Berdych^[10]
• Jaromír Jágr^[10]

See also

• Civic Democratic Party

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Modrý tým.

• (in Czech) Official website
• Blue Team on Twitter
  

Civic Democratic Party (ODS)
Leaders	Václav Klaus Mirek Topolánek Petr Nečas Martin Kuba (interim) Petr Fiala
Leadership elections	1991 (April) 1991 (November) 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2001 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Presidential candidates	Václav Havel Václav Klaus Přemysl Sobotka
Presidential election primaries	2012
Governments	Čalfa Pithart Stráský Klaus I Klaus II Tošovský Topolánek I Topolánek II Fischer Nečas
Organisation	Blue Team Center for Civic Freedoms CEVRO Liberal Conservative Academy EStat.cz Pravý Břeh Young Conservatives
Affiliations	Current Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe European Conservatives and Reformists International Democrat Union Former ED European Democrat Union EPP-ED MER
History and related topics	1997–98 Czech political crisis 2013 Czech political corruption scandal Christian Democratic Party Civic Democratic Party (Slovakia) Civic Forum Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, 2009 Democratic Party (Slovakia) Freeholder Party of the Czech Republic Interparliamentary Club of the Democratic Right Klausism Opposition Agreement Privatization in the Czech Republic
Conservatism portal

1. ↑ "ODS spustila projekt Modrý tým". Lidovky.cz. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2017. 
2. ↑ televize, Česká. "ODS varovala před nárůstem hlasů pro ČSSD a komunisty". ČT24 (in Czech). Retrieved 17 July 2017. 
3. ↑ "Modrý tým si zahrál airsoft, podle ČSSD šlo o výcvik komanda". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 17 July 2017. 
4. ↑ "Modrý tým zažaloval ČSSD, která jej označila za komando". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 17 July 2017. 
5. ↑ "Omluvte se ODS za Tvrdíkova slova o NSDAP, nakázal soud Sobotkovi". iDNES.cz. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2017. 
6. 1 2 "Modrý tým: K náší výzvě se připojují další dobrovolníci". Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 17 July 2017. 
7. ↑ "ODS: Odstartovali jsme kampaň 96 hodin pro pravici". Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 17 July 2017. 
8. ↑ "Nábor členů a fundraising: weby stran zaspaly dobu - IPM". IPM (in Czech). 5 October 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2017. 
9. ↑ "Modrý tým. Bez něj by to nešlo". Dobrovolnik.cz (in Czech). 29 May 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2017. 
10. 1 2 3 "ODS opustilo za tři roky pět tisíc členů, komunistům a lidovcům vymírají". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 17 July 2017.