Within the new Czech coalition of parties ANO, SPD and Motoristi there is consensus, that they will not return to the program statement of the government or modify it according to the demands of President Petr Pavle. Motorist leader Petr Macinka and SPD chairman Tomio Okamura announced this to journalists after Thursday’s meeting of the coalition council, writes TASR according to Czech media reports.
According to Macinka, the negotiations mainly focused on Wednesday’s meeting of the president with the chairman of the ANO movement Andrej Babiš, while the coalition addressed two key topics – the program statement of the government and the conflict of interests that, according to Pavle, Andrej Babiš could get into in order to be appointed prime minister.
According to Macinka, there is a clear consensus in the coalition regarding the program statement that it will not be amended. The president wants to make a program statement it contained, among other things, a clear position of the future government on the war in Ukraine and the increase in defense spending. “It is not acceptable for us to modify our manifesto based on Mr. President’s objections,” Okamura said after the meeting.
As for the conflict of interest, Macinka added that the debate narrowed down to whether Babiš will explain his conflict of interests publicly, or only privately to the President. After the negotiations, Babiš said that he would announce the way to resolve his possible conflict of interests just before he was appointed prime minister. “If the president wishes, I will say it publicly,” he added.
The President’s Office stated in a press release after the meeting between Pavlo and Babiš that if Babiš publicly says how he will resolve his conflict of interests and it will be in accordance with the laws, the head of state is ready to appoint him as prime minister without delay. According to the president’s office, insufficient resolution of the conflict of interests could in the future jeopardize the drawing of funds from European funds for the entire Czech Republic.
