Lany, Central Bohemia, Dec 11 (CTK) – Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka’s (Social Democrats, CSSD) exchange of two CSSD ministers 11 months before the election was stupid because ministers should be replaced halfway through the election term, President Milos Zeman told the Frekvence 1 radio station yesterday.
Health minister Svatopluk Nemecek and human rights minister Jiri Dienstbier were dismissed at the end of November.
They were replaced with Miloslav Ludvik and Jan Chvojka.
Zeman said he felt sorry that Nemecek had to go, but approved of Dienstbier’s departure.
“When it comes to Dienstbier, I say: better late than never. This ought to have happened three years earlier,” Zeman said.
He said he did not have any objections to the two ministers who had replaced them.
“When it comes to Chvojka, I agree with what he says: ‘I do not want to be any Dienstbier number two,’ which is good because he would end up in the same bad way,” Zeman said.
Jiri Dienstbier was one of the rivals of Zeman in the presidential election in 2013. He was fielded by the Social Democrats.
Zeman said Sobotka’s proposal to change the government ministers was stupid.
“A normal politician changes his ministers halfway through the government term of office, not 11 months before the election,” he added.
pv/dr
