Prague, Jan 18 (CTK) – President Milos Zeman will receive the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) on January 24, as they agreed on over the phone on Thursday, presidential spokesman Jiri Ovcacek told journalists on Thursday.
“This morning, Zeman had a phone talk with Babis. They planned together that the resignation of the government and the empowerment for the government to execute its tasks until a new one is appointed will take place on January 24,” Ovcacek said.
The meeting of Zeman and Babis will take place two days before the second round of the presidential election, in which Babis has repeatedly expressed support for Zeman, challenged by academic Jiri Drahos.
Babis’s minority government resigned on Wednesday, five weeks after it was appointed. It reacted to the Tuesday vote in the Chamber of Deputies, which denied confidence to it. It was only backed by the deputies for ANO.
At first, the Presidential Office announced that Zeman would receive the resignation by the end of this working week. Ovcacek later changed the deadline, arguing with Zeman’s busy schedule.
Zeman is expected to entrust Babis with forming another government. This time Babis first has to muster the majority support of 101 members of the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies to gain the confidence vote.
Until a new government is named, the government in resignation will still be ruling.
