Prague, June 1 (CTK) – The threat of the media issued by the Mafra publishers being abused in political struggle will persist, unless former Czech finance minister Andrej Babis (ANO) sells them, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) said on Thursday.
“Unless the media are clearly separated, for example unless Andrej Babis sells them, the risks and doubts will persist,” he said.
Billionaire Babis owned the giant Agrofert concern, including chemical, food-processing and agriculture firms but also media outlets, mainly the Mafra group that issues the Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) and Lidove noviny (LN) wide-circulation national daily papers. In February he transferred Agrofert to trust funds, in line with a new conflict of interest law.
“If Babis had not wanted to concentrate media, political and economic power in his hands, this situation would have never occurred. As soon as Babis entered politics, he should have decided whether he wants to be a representative of the state and an elected representative of the people, or whether he wants to be a businessman or a media magnate,” Sobotka said.
Babis was dismissed as deputy prime minister and finance minister last week. Sobotka demanded the dismissal due to his possible tax evasion, suspected abuse of media and unclear property situation. Babis has the ambition of becoming next prime minister. His ANO movement is the favourite of the autumn general election, having a two-digit lead over the runner-up CSSD.
Sobotka said there have still been doubts and big questions around Mafra. He said the leaked audio recordings of Babis talking to a MfD journalist and statements made by some other MfD journalists show Babis assigned particular tasks to the media he owned.
The European Parliament discussed the situation of Czech media on Thursday, concluding that democratic structures have not been threatened in the country.
Sobotka said the fact that the EP dealt with this issue was not good for the Czech reputation abroad. However, it showed that the Czech Republic can deal with the problem on its own.
