Prague, Dec 20 (CTK) – The Social Democrats (CSSD) again ruled out their support for the Czech minority cabinet of Andrej Babis (ANO) once again, their leader Milan Chovanec said after talks with ANO movement’s representatives today, adding that Babis’s fait accompli style is unacceptable.
He said ANO asked the CSSD for support for its minority cabinet today.
Chovanec said negotiations about support for a government cannot be led in such a way. The CSSD cannot support a government when it had absolutely no say on the contents of the policy statement and lineup of the government, he said.
However, he did not rule out that the Social Democrats might talk about a government if the negotiations do not have the form of a dictate.
“If the ANO movement wants to seriously debate the fate of the Czech Republic in future, we are ready to have this debate,” Chovanec said.
He did not want to speculate about the situation of a possible second attempt at forming a government, which would be probably headed by Babis again.
The Chamber of Deputies will take a vote of confidence in Babis’s minority cabinet on January 10.
Chovanec criticised ANO for pushing things through the Chamber of Deputies thanks to support from anti-European forces.
ANO joined forces with the anti-EU populist Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the anti-NATO Communists (KSCM) in key parliamentary votes after the October general election.
Chovanec said he believes that Babis realises that his government needs to win support from the Chamber of Deputies and be a stable, pro-European project.
He said he did not wish early elections to be held.
“The voters passed out cards in a certain way and politicians should play with them, but take it seriously. If one forms one’s own government, presents one’s own policy statement and says Take it or leave it, only one thing can be said in reply: We leave it,” Chovanec said.
In the previous election term, the Social Democrats were the strongest party in parliament and their then leader Bohuslav Sobotka was prime minister, but in the recent elections they lost two thirds of their seats in the Chamber of Deputies.