Litoměřice - A recruiter for the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) in Litoměřice tried to bribe people into joining the party by offering them marijuana.
The scandal, which is a real novelty in the mostly drug-free political scene of the Czech Republic, was opened by a group of local party members in the North Bohemian city who pretended to be ordinary citizens interested in joining the party. They appointed a meeting with a recruiter for the ČSSD.
The ČSSD is one of the two main political parties of the Czech Republic, and currently the main opposition party.
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During the meeting, they were offered 1 gram of marijuana for each new member. However, the group recorded the meeting with an MP3 player, and also took some photos from a distance. Eventually, all the materials they acquired were handed over to police.
Aktuálně.cz has the copies of the materials at its disposal as well as a testimony one of the men made to police.
Police in Litoměřice has already said that the materials are authentic. "Currently the case is being looked into," spokesmen of Litoměřice police Alena Romová said to Aktuálně.cz.
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The documents include the explanation of why they were acquired in the first place. One of the group of ČSSD members said to police that they wanted to raise attention to some doubtful recruitment practices of the Litoměřice ČSSD.
In the last months and years, some people interested in joining the party have said that recruiters tried to bribe them with money, barbecues or limo rides.
"At the beginning of July 2010 we were recruiting new young members, with some of them telling us that a certain member of the local organization of the ČSSD in Litoměřice offered them drugs, marijuana to be specific, in exchange for their membership," the Social Democracy member said to police.
Indeed, the record proves that the recruiter offered 10 grams of marijuana for 10 new members. "You will get it tomorrow after the vote," the voice on the 9 minute record said.
The photos handed over to police show a group of approximately 10 young people sitting in a circle in a park. In the police file, the ČSSD member explained that the meeting took place in one of Litoměřice's parks around 10 July 2010.
In addition to the possibility of bribery and drug charges, the record can be harmful to the Social Democratic Party also because some of the recruiter's remarks. Basically, he tried to convince the group by repeatedly asserting that the membership in the Litoměřice ČSSD is mostly about drinking alcohol, having dinners, and "voting on something from time to time."
