Prague, (CTK) – The Czech Chamber of Deputies postponed its vote on confidence in Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s government until January 16 at the proposal of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) today.
The chairman of the ODS deputy group, Zbynek Stanjura, argued that the one-hour pause in the session was not sufficient for the mandate and immunity committee to hold an extraordinary meeting on the EU subsidy fraud case of Capi hnizdo in which Prime Minister Andrej Babis is implicated.
Stanjura dismissed the notion that the session may continue later this week, arguing that under law, the Chamber of Deputies must deal with verbal questions, while the presidential election starts on Friday.
The mandate and immunity committee will have another meeting on Tuesday morning. Babis and ANO first deputy head Jaroslav Faltynek, who is also implicated in the case, are to express their position on the case.
The Chamber of Deputies will only meet in the afternoon as its session is to continue at 14:00.
The lower house was discussing the fate of Babis’s government for roughly seven hours.
President Milos Zeman attended the session in order to support Babis’s minority government.
However, he did not manage to persuade the deputies of most parties to change their mind. Except for ANO, no one is ready to support the government.
The opposition deputies mainly stressed that Babis did not even try to muster their support and that his policy statement is not trustworthy.