Prague, Jan 8 (CTK) – The Czech minority government of Andrej Babis (ANO) approved a new version of its policy statement and sent it to the chairmen of the parties in parliament on Monday, Babis told reporters after the cabinet’s meeting.
The cabinet will submit it to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Czech parliament, on Wednesday, before a vote of confidence.
The new version is shorter and it includes some new points, such as promised free train fares for pensioners and students as well as a preamble with the priorities.
Those are the preparation of changes in the pension system, the EU agenda, the state administration digitisation, housing construction and strengthening security.
“Some repeated formulations and some redundant texts were deleted,” Babis told the press conference.
Babis said he had decided during the weekend to add free train fares for pensioners over 65 years and students under 26 to the policy statement. This shows how his cabinet wants to work for people, he added.
Babis also said he did not expect his government to win confidence in the lower house on Wednesday. He reiterated that representatives of the other parties in parliament were to blame for this as they refused to negotiate with ANO.
The Babis government modified its policy statement based on the comments by the Association of Towns and Villages, representatives of senior citizens and the tripartite council meeting of the trade unions, employers and government.
The Babis government also newly promises a general referendum law, one of the crucial points of the manifesto of the anti-European Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD).
The SPD has said it will not back the government due to the discrepancies in the programme and some personal reservations.
Regional Development Minister Klara Dostalova (ANO) said she had added several points to the manifesto, such as social housing and housing accessible to low-income groups or the elderly and single mothers.
The minority government held an extraordinary meeting in the government office this morning to deal with the policy statement.
The lower house session to which the manifesto will be presented starts at 10:00 on Wednesday. An hour later, President Milos Zeman will address the MPs to support the government. Zeman also announced that he would entrust Babis to form a new government in a possible second try as well.
