Lany,Central Bohemia, Aug 27 (CTK) – Czech PM Andrej Babis (ANO) met President Milos Zeman at a regular working lunch at the presidential chateau in Lany today.
The politicians met shortly after 14:00, Zeman’s spokesman Jiri Ovcacek said on Twitter, adding a photograph on which Zeman hands Babis a box with a pipe.
“A present for the prime minster. Andrej Babis celebrates his birthday on Sunday, September 2. Congratulations!” Ovcacek wrote.
Babis will turn 64.
Their last such meeting took place in July when Babis participated in Zeman’s team working meeting on the state budget, which included Finance Minister Alena Schillerova (for ANO). They debated the state budget with her. It was then when Zeman agreed with Babis on not backing the trade unions’ requirement of an across-the-board 10-percent growth of salaries in the public sector.
Today’s meeting is held one day after Schillerova announced on Czech Television (CT) that she would submit a draft Czech state budget for 2019 with a lower deficit of 40 billion crowns instead of the originally planned 50 billion.
They could be discussing the situation at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, too. Zeman has refused to appoint MEP Miroslav Poche, the Social Democrats (CSSD) nominee for foreign minister within the coalition cabinet of the senior government ANO and junior CSSD. CSSD chairman and deputy PM Jan Hamacek became the acting foreign minister instead, as well as interior minister.