On Tuesday morning, Czech MPs gathered at an extraordinary meeting, at which the opposition wants to try to express no confidence in the government of Andrej Babiš. They initiated this step in response to the case of SMS messages from Minister of Foreign Affairs Petr Macinka regarding MP Filip Turk, for which President Petr Pavel accused him of attempted blackmail. According to government politicians, the only reason for the meeting is that the opposition has no other topics, reports TASR correspondent in Prague.
- The opposition in the Czech Republic demands a vote of no confidence in the government of Andrej Babiš.
- The reason is the case of SMS messages from Minister Macinka to MP Turk.
- The ruling parties claim that the opposition has no other relevant topics.
- The opposition criticizes the absence of Macinka and Babiš at the meeting.
- Babiš said that he advised the minister to change his style of communication.
„It is not usual for MPs to request a meeting of no confidence in the government so soon after the meeting of confidence in the government has taken place… But we definitely don’t do it with joy. We are not at all happy that the government failed in several areas even before it began to govern,” ODS chairman Martin Kupka declared in the plenary session. According to him, Babiš’s cabinet failed in governance transparency, respect for democratic institutions, foreign policy, defense capability or responsible management.
According to him, the government does not work for the people and the Czech Republic, but above all for itself. “We are not the ones holding up the government at work. If it weren’t for Macinka’s text messages and the unacceptable pressure on the president, we wouldn’t be here today and laws could be voted on,” he emphasized. According to him, as opposition parties, they could do nothing but initiate this meeting. In addition to Macik’s SMS messages themselves, he criticized how Babiš approached the case. “Instead of distancing himself and condemning the absolutely unacceptable actions of Petr Macinka, he actually supported him,” Kupka pointed out.
The ruling parties consider the meeting to be part of the tactics of the opposition, which, according to them, does not want laws to be approved in the chamber. Given that Babiš’s cabinet gained confidence in mid-January, the effort to express no confidence in him after more than two weeks is pointless, according to the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies and head of the SPD, Tomi Okamura. He pointed out that the opposition has no other topic, and therefore expects that its efforts to dismiss ministers or express no confidence in the government will be repeated regularly.
“The priority of the SPD and our government is work. So that people have more money as soon as possible and feel safe, so that we can raise the standard of living,” declared at a press conference before the start of the Okamura meeting, noting that the opposition parties are preventing the government from implementing measures that would raise people’s living standards.
The opposition does not like the fact that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for whom they initiated this meeting, is not present at the extraordinary meeting. According to them, the Speaker of the Chamber could have convened it on another day. Macinka is on a three-day trip to the United States. According to Okamura, the vote should probably take place on Wednesday, which would mean that apart from Macinka, Babiš, who will be on a foreign trip in Italy, will not be present. The opposition also criticized that.
Last week, the Czech president published the messages that Macinka sent to Pavlo’s adviser, Petr Kolář. He writes in them that he is facing an irreversible decision, “how to proceed with the president”. If Pavel had appointed Turk as Minister of the Environment, he would have peace of mind. If he does not proceed to any negotiation in this matter, Macinka writes that he is ready to fight “brutally” for the Turk, and the consequences are said to surprise Pavel. Babiš declared on Monday that he “clarified” with the minister that there is no need to communicate confrontationally and that Macinka will change the way she communicates.
