Status: 10.10.2021 4:34 p.m.
After the election in the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Babis’ party or the winning alliance of the opposition could get the job of forming a government. The president decides on that, but he’s in hospital.
The formation of a government in the Czech Republic could be influenced by President Milos Zeman’s illness. The 77-year-old was admitted to the Central Military Hospital in Prague on Sunday and is there in the intensive care unit. According to the hospital management, there are complications with Zeman in connection with an already known diagnosis. However, details were not given.
According to earlier information from the presidential office, Zeman was last sick and spent eight days in the hospital last month. At that time it was said that it was not a life-threatening situation.
Zeman during a visit by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Prague in August. The Czech President is dependent on a wheelchair because of a nervous disease.
Image: AP
Meet with Babis before delivery
In the Czech Republic, the President plays an active role in forming a government. According to the constitution, it is its task to give the mandate to form a government. If this is not possible for him, this task is transferred to the President of the House of Representatives.
Before he was admitted to the hospital, Zeman met with Prime Minister Andrej Babis. According to eyewitnesses, an ambulance left the presidential palace west of the capital Prague shortly afterwards.
Winner of the election vs. largest single party
Babis just lost his government majority in the parliamentary elections on Friday and Saturday. In the lead is a group of several conservative and liberal opposition parties that are striving to replace Babis and his populist party ANO.
Zeman had announced that he wanted to give the government mandate to the strongest single party. That was again the ANO von Babis, while the opposition groups are alliances of several parties.
Petr Fiala, head of the opposition alliance Spolu (Joint), declared himself ready to form the next government due to his “strong” mandate. “The President will have to take this into account,” he said. Babis, a confidante of President Zeman, admitted his defeat, but at the same time made it clear that he wanted to stay in power. “My place is in government,” he said. “We’ll see what the president says.”
Babis in need of explanation
A few days before the election, Babis found himself in need of explanation due to revelations in the context of the “Pandora Papers”. According to this, he is said to have anonymously bought a country castle in southern France for 15 million euros through a mailbox company in 2009. The origin of the money is not known, the allegation of money laundering is in the room. Babis dismissed the allegations as a smear campaign.
Born in Slovakia, he is one of the richest men in the Czech Republic. His conglomerate Agrofert is mainly active in agriculture and food production as well as in the chemical and media sector. As an entrepreneur, Babis had also received multi-million euro subsidies in the past. In Brussels, this is viewed as a conflict of interest and the newly established EU public prosecutor is entrusted with it.