Prague, Sept 18 (CTK) – The Czech government will keep ruling the country until the end of the present election term despite disputes between the coalition parties, Deputy Prime Minister Babis (ANO) told Prima TV on Sunday.
“We will complete the mandate, the government is successful,” Babis said.
Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) supported this view. He told Czech Television (CT) on Sunday that early elections are not threatening in the Czech Republic.
The next general election will be held in late 2017. The CSSD and ANO have been the country since January 2014 along with the junior Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL).
“This government is stable and it is capable of achieving the things which it promised to the citizens,” Sobotka said.
“Disputes can be seen in all coalition government and it is important that they do not excess the point when the government is functioning and able to push bills through parliament,” Sobotka said.
He said a recent coalition dispute over caps for the retirement age was an example of such cooperation.
On September 14, the Chamber of Deputies pushed through a bill on the conflict of interests that bans government ministers from owning media and their companies from winning subsidies and public orders. Nearly all MPs supported the bill except for the whole ANO movement as the bans concern its leader and the bill was even dubbed “Lex Babis.” The wealthy businessman Babis is the second richest Czech and he owns the Agrofert group that includes national dailies, a radio station and a music TV station.
During the voting on bill on Wednesday, Babis said Sobotka was a wretch, while Sobotka labelled Babis an oligarch.
Babis told Prima TV that the CSSD and ANO have roughly the same preferences before the forthcoming regional and Senate elections. He indicated that the bill on the conflict of interests is part of the election campaign against him.
Babis said ANO’s coalition partners would join forced with the opposition against ANO before the general election next year.
