Czech president Miloš Zeman has thrown a wrench in negotiations over a coalition government between the ANO party and the Social Democrats (CSSD) by refusing to accept Miroslav Poche (CSSD) as foreign minister. Individual appointments are not generally approved by the president, whose role has always been to pick a prime minister and then get out of the way. Rather than stand up for his coalition partner, ANO’s leader Andrej Babiš has backed the position of a president whose most notable act last week was to burn a giant pair of red underpants at a hastily called press conference.
The weekly Respekt says CSSD faces a dilemma: Whether to back down and agree to take part in a government which can be controlled by the president, or to refuse to join the coalition government, potentially clearing the way for a radical nationalist party to replace its place as junior coalition member. The elections that led to this situation, it should be remembered, were held in October.
