Prague, April 19 (CTK) – The Czech Social Democrat (CSSD) deputies’ group did not discuss ANO’s government cooperation offer at its meeting on Thursday but debated on whether it actually makes a sense for the CSSD to join the government, MP Petr Dolinek told journalists.
CSSD first deputy chairman Jiri Zimola said the meeting outlined a framework of the conditions under which the CSSD may reopen government-forming talks with ANO, the winner of the October 2017 general election.
The CSSD will release more information after the party board meeting that will be held on Friday and discuss ANO’s offer.
“We did not deal with any offer today. We debated on what the Czech Republic needs. A government is needed, but the question is whether we should be part of it,” Dolinek said.
Rather than the number of ministerial seats offered to the CSSD, more important is the question of whether a minority ANO-CSSD cabinet supported by the Communists (KSCM) can arise and what its promoted values would be, Dolinek said.
“Our colleagues have learnt the framework of the conditions, which the CSSD leadership may open for further negotiations tomorrow, if it approves them,” Zimola said.
He would not answer the question of whether one of the conditions is that the prime minister not be a prosecuted person, a condition the CSSD set in previous negotiations, aiming at ANO chairman Andrej Babis, who faces prosecution over a suspected EU subsidy fraud.
ANO insists on Babis as its nominee for prime minister.
Zimola said the deputies’ meeting was interesting, with a stormy discussion.
“After all, many deputies have experience with the ANO movement,” he said, adding that much depends on the CSSD leadership’s position on the issue.
The two parties were partners in the previous coalition government in 2014-17, in which the CSSD was the stronger of them, unlike now.
Several-week-long negotiations between ANO and the CSSD foundered two weeks ago.
President Milos Zeman then advised ANO to negotiate on support for its minority government with the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the Communists (KSCM), the two parties which many commentators call extremist.
ANO broad leadership rejected this variant, however, and tasked ANO negotiators to seek reopening of the talks with the CSSD.
On Monday, ANO submitted an offer for new negotiations to the CSSD. Both parties have kept its content secret for now.
After smoothly winning the October 2017 elections, Babis formed an ANO single-party minority government, which, however, lost a confidence vote in parliament in January and continues ruling pending its successor is the established.
