Prague, March 3 (CTK) – Czech legislation needs to be amended to secure the separation of economic and media power from political power, PM Bohuslav Sobotka said on Thursday, referring to a discussed draft amendment to the law on the conflict of interests that, if passed, would ban ministers from owning companies.
The amendment, initiated by the opposition, has reportedly been backed by almost all parties in the Chamber of Deputies, except for ANO, the government movement of Finance Minister Andrej Babis, a billionaire owner of the Agrofert food, chemical and media holding.
While referring to the draft during the question time in the Chamber of Deputies today, Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) did not directly mention Babis’s name.
He said politics must be controlled by citizens and the media.
“If political, economic and media powers get interconnected, the control no longer works… That is why I am for [parliament to] really separate the media power from the political one, and the economic from the political, so that any direct exercise of senior posts in business companies [ministers] is eliminated,” Sobotka said.
If proposals are submitted in the lower house to help separate politics from business, it is a correct intention, he continued.
The present laws are not tailored on the new situation where the seats of ministers or senators go to people who own large companies and properties, Sobotka said.
Czech senators include Ivo Valenta, owner of the giant lottery company Synot.
“In reaction to the changing political environment, it is necessary to modify, change and toughen the relevant laws,” Sobotka said.
He would not anticipate the result of the parliament’s vote on the bill submitted by deputy Martin Plisek (TOP 09).
He said each lawmaker will have to vote on it according to their best conscience and according to the programme they represent and were elected for.
