ČTK

CSSD Nominates Zeman Crony For Minister Post

CSSD, Jan Hamacek, Miloš Zeman

Prague, May 18 (CTK) – The Social Democrats (CSSD) have proposed also a candidate of President Milos Zeman to their planned coalition with Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ ANO, Petr Fiala and Petr Gazdik, leaders of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Mayors and Independents (STAN), told CTK today.

 

They had in mind Miroslav Toman, who was proposed as the new agriculture minister.

 

Miroslav Kalousek, head of the TOP 09 deputy group, said it was curious that there was no woman among the nominees.

 

Ivan Bartos, the leader of the Pirates, said the nomination of Miroslav Poche for the post of foreign minister absolutely mocked the Social Democrat voters.

 

Under the proposal, the Social Democrat leader, Jan Hamacek, is to become the interior minister, Petr Krcal, a former deputy labour and social affairs minister, is to be the labour and social affairs minister, Miroslav Toman, the president of the Food Chamber, is proposed as the next agriculture minister, Poche as foreign minister and Antonin Stanek, the mayor of Olomouc, north Moravia, as the culture minister.

 

“If I am not mistaken, the CSSD will have three ministers in the government, it will take along with it one Zeman’s minister, for which Zeman has ‘rewarded it’ with vetoing its candidate for foreign minister,” Fiala has tweeted with irony.

 

Zeman refused to name Poche even before the talks on him started.

 

“There are no guarantees and ANO will keep its coalition [in the Chamber of Deputies] with the anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD). What a deal,” he added.

 

Bartos said it was obvious that by nominating Poche, the Social Democrat leadership was “buying” the support from the Prague party branch. “

 

“Otherwise, the man with such a dubious past could never be nominated for the post of foreign minister,” Bartos said.

 

“Some nominees evidently do not have much in common with the CSSD, being nominees of Zeman rather than of the Social Democrats,” Gazdik said, warning of Toman, who was a minister in the caretaker government of Jiri Rusnok between 2013 and 2014.

 

Pavel Belobradek, leader of the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), said the names did not matter.

 

“It is unacceptable for the KDU-CSL that the Czech Republic should be represented by a government that would depend on the votes of the radical left, the Communists. This party has never shed its past and it includes Stalinist hardliners,” Belobradek said.

 

He said there were many other government options, without the influence of the Communists and the SPD, which had not yet been tried.

 

The SPD will not support the possible government not for any personal reasons, but due to the programme, SPD deputy chairman Radim Fiala said.

 

“The CSSD is a party with a corrupt post, it supports immigration, the dictate by the EU and the creation of neo-Marxist totalitarianism on the basis of a positive discrimination of minorities,” Fiala told CTK.