Prague, Feb 25 (CTK) – The Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) do not intend to revoke its congress’s resolution against Andrej Babis’s participation in government, which President Milos Zeman mentioned on Thursday, new CSSD chairman Jan Hamacek said in a debate on public Czech TV on Sunday.
Zeman mentioned this in connection with starting talks on the CSSD’s participation in the second government of PM in resignation Babis (ANO chairman).
Babis’s ANO minority government failed to win confidence of the Chamber of Deputies and resigned in January. Zeman entrusted him to lead talks on a new cabinet.
Last Sunday, the CSSD called on ANO not to nominate prosecuted persons for the government, hinting at Babis being prosecuted over an EU subsidy fraud. However, the CSSD congress delegates did not vote on a stricter proposal that this be a fundamental obstacle to the party’s entry into an ANO government.
The CSSD congress was interrupted and will continue on April 7 when the delegates are to elect the party’s deputy chairpersons and debate its statutes.
Hamacek said in a TV debate on Sunday that the participation of a prosecuted person in a government was a fundamental problem for the CSSD and that it would definitely not revoke its resolution.
He reiterated that the CSSD would debate a programme consensus with ANO first and only then deal with personnel issues, including the respective resolution of the CSSD congress.
“If someone wants ti achieve a compromise, he must make concessions,” Hamacek said about Babis.
However, Babis does not want to give up the position of his ANO’s candidate for prime minister. He said after a meeting with the CSSD on Wednesday that he enjoyed the movement’s clear support in this respect.
Zeman said he wished a new government won confidence of the Chamber of Deputies by the summer holiday. He prefers the alternative of the CSSD’ support for an ANO minority government.
ANO, which has 78 MPs in the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies, would not command majority together with the CSSD (15 mandates) only, and it would need another coalition partner or parties to support its minority government at least.
Babis can see a silent cooperation with the Communists (KSCM) as the only possibility.
