Prague, June 16 (CTK) – The Social Democrats (CSSD) are satisfied with the current wording of the coalition pact and do not demand any changes in it, but if their partners want to make some, they are ready to discuss them, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (CSSD) told journalists on Thursday.
However, the changes must not relate to the division of the ministries among the coalition parties, Sobotka said.
“Rather, we think that it is important to observe it [the coalition pact],” Sobotka said.
Any redistribution of ministries is out of the question, he added.
“We agreed on this at the beginning two and a half years ago and there is no reason to make any changes in this,” Sobotka said.
He repeated his earlier words that since the government was doing well, there was no reason to throw it away over any rhetoric or dissent.
Finance Minister Andrej Babis, leader of ANO, another member of the three-party coalition government, spoke about a need to change the coalition pact on Wednesday.
ANO at first threatened to terminate the coalition agreement due to its dispute with the Social Democrats over the police reform proposed by Interior Minister Milan Chovanec (CSSD).
Although Chovanec gave a go-ahead to the reform on Wednesday, ANO did not terminate the pact.
Babis said the coalition agreement had been several times violated and there was no mechanism with which to enforce its commitments.
Babis said on Thursday since Police President Tomas Tuhy was not trusted by ANO it insisted on his resignation.
Within the police reform, the current elite police organised crime unit and corruption and financial unit are to merge into a single National Centre against Organised Crime (NCOZ).
The issue has caused a serious rift between two major coalition government partners, the CSSD and ANO. The former has advocated the reform, while the latter has opposed it, arguing that it may frustrate open cases.
The smallest government party, the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), was not actively involved in the dispute.
Organised crime unit chief Robert Slachta resigned in protest against the police reshuffle on Friday.
Social Democrats argue that ANO should not politicise the affair that is solely within the power of Tuhy and Chovanec.
