Prime Minister Andrej Babiš called on Zeman’s Chief of Staff, Vratislav Mynář, to resign. If Mynář does not do so, after activating Article 66, Babiš would make any personnel changes himself, he told iDNES.cz. Babiš said that he did not address Mynář or is not going to do so, according to him it is a public challenge. According to the leader of the Together coalition and possible future Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS), Mynář should be aware that the situation is not sustainable and resign from office.
“The whole situation that has arisen here is an inadequate and unacceptable activity of Chancellor Mynár, so it would be best if he resigned immediately. What he showed is absolutely unacceptable, “iDNES.cz quoted the prime minister as saying. Babiš confirmed that in the afternoon the club of ANO deputies will deal with the meeting of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Radek Vondráček (ANO) with the President last week.
According to Fiala, Mynář should also resign. “If he does not do so and Article 66 enters into force, the prime minister – whether current or future – should remove the chancellor. We are in a serious and unsustainable situation, we must find a dignified way out of it and restore confidence in the basic functions and institutions of the state,” said Fiala. on Twitter.
Article 66 of the Constitution addresses the situation where a country finds itself without a president, or the president is unable to hold office, and both chambers of Parliament resolve. The Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies share part of the powers of the head of state. Constitutional lawyer Aleš Gerloch told Radiožurnál today that the situation should not change even the situation that the government may be in resignation at that time. Should Article 66 of the Constitution be activated, the powers are regulated by the Act on the Office of the President and are transferred to the Prime Minister. “This means, on the one hand, those explicitly mentioned in Article 63, and on the other hand, all the powers which the President of the Republic has under ordinary laws and which are decided in countersignature are temporarily transferred to the Prime Minister,” Gerloch told Radiožurnál.
President Miloš Zeman is currently unable to perform any work duties for health reasons. The long-term prognosis of his health is extremely uncertain, wrote the Central Military Hospital to the President of the Senate, where the President has been in the intensive care unit since October 10. Mynář was informed about the hospital’s position on Wednesday, October 13, but a day later he arranged a meeting between Zeman and the Speaker of the House, Radek Vondráček (YES), in the hospital room.