Prague, Dec 14 (CTK) – Slovak media consultant Roman Liptak will head the analytical section of the Czech Presidential Office to replace Radek Augustin who was made the head of the Government Office on Wednesday, Presidential Office spokesman Jiri Ovcacek told CTK on Thursday.
Liptak was an aide to President Milos Zeman in the campaign before the direct presidential election in 2012-13.
In Slovakia, Liptak aided Rudolf Schuster who ran in the 1999 presidential election and won it. He was programme director of the public Slovak Television and a top manager of the commercial Markiza TV.
Augustin was a member of the Social Democratic Party (CSSD) for 12 years. In 2010, he was among the founding members of the Party of Citizens’ Rights (SPO) that is linked to Zeman.
He became the Government Office head under the Rusnok cabinet which Zeman appointed in mid-2013 in spite of parliament’s disagreement with it. The cabinet of Bohuslav Sobotka (CSSD), appointed in early 2014, filled the post with Pavel Dvorak, while Augustin joined the Presidential Office.
The Presidential Office analytical section gathers, processes and evaluates information about the activities of the government, parliament, ministries and the public opinion.
According to previous information, Vladimir Krulis is to replace Miroslav Sklenar in the post of the Presidential Office protocol head.
Ovcacek said on Thursday the date of Sklenar’s leave has not been set yet. Sklenar was the protocol head in 1996-2004 under President Vaclav Havel and President Vaclav Klaus. When he started working for Zeman one year ago, he said he would occupy his post only temporarily.
