Why the change of power in Czechia is being delayed and what surprises it could bring
The change of power in Czechia has reached its final stage.
The leader of the ANO party and potential head of the new government, Andrej Babiš, hopes that the new government will be sworn in by mid-December, which would allow the new prime minister to represent Czechia at the European Council meeting on 18–19 December.
Babiš even made a personnel concession to speed up the appointment of the government.
As it turned out, compared to the initial plans, Babiš made only one, but very important change for Ukraine – the candidate for the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs was replaced.
Read more about the process of the change of power in Czechia and who might become the new foreign minister in the article by Yurii Panchenko, European Pravda's editor: Babiš’s compromise: what blocks the change of power in Czechia and are unpleasant surprises possible?
When it became known that the election winner would form a new coalition with the far-right party Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) led by Tomio Okamura, as well as with the Motorists for Themselves party, which entered parliament for the first time, the most problematic seemed to be the allocation of ministerial portfolios with the far-right.
However, it turned out to be quite the opposite.
The Motorists demanded ministerial positions for their two leaders: party chairman Petr Macinka and the honourary chairman, Filip Turek.
But these plans immediately drew criticism from the president and strong public opposition.
The initial coalition arrangements envisaged that Petr Macinka would receive the Ministry of the Environment, while Filip Turek would head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
These plans immediately sparked protests. So, in a meeting with the president on 26 November, Babiš proposed a compromise: Macinka would become foreign minister and Turek would take the Ministry of the Environment.
"We wanted to make a friendly gesture to avoid blocking the formation of the government," Petr Macinka commented on this reshuffle. However, he made it clear that further concessions for his party would be unacceptable.
At the same time, this concession clearly did not resolve all the problems, which strengthens the president’s determination to block Babiš from being appointed to any ministerial position.
Focusing attention on Turek, however, increases the likelihood that the less controversial Petr Macinka will be appointed to the government – specifically, as foreign minister.
Before entering politics, Petr Macinka, leader of the Motorists, worked as deputy head of the press office in the office of President Václav Klaus. After Klaus’s term ended, he headed the press office of the Klaus Foundation.
This is significant because Václav Klaus, as president, was remembered primarily as a Eurosceptic, but after leaving office, he began promoting openly pro-Russian views.
Macinka himself, however, assures that the new government’s position on Ukraine will not differ significantly from that of the current government. "I would rather use the word ‘continuity’ to describe the foreign policy of the new government," he asserts.
At the same time, he says he supports any diplomatic resolution to the war and highly values Donald Trump’s efforts in this regard.
Meanwhile, Andrej Babiš faces another, possibly even bigger, obstacle on the path to becoming prime minister.
This concerns the business interests of the ANO leader – the company Agrofert. Czech law gives the prime minister 30 days to resolve a conflict of interest, but the president insists that Babiš publicly present a realistic plan to address this conflict before being appointed.
Moreover, Babiš must show how he will resolve the conflict of interest both in accordance with Czech law and European law, since Agrofert receives EU subsidies, and the European Commission has already noted this.
This requirement significantly complicates the situation for Babiš.