Babiš: Pavel refuses to appoint Turek as minister

President Petr Pavel hosted Prime Minister Andrej Babiš at a New Year’s lunch at the Prague Castle. While the event is usually a social occasion, this time the two leaders - without their spouses - focused primarily on political matters. Babiš told journalists shortly after the meeting that he had submitted the nomination of Motorists Party MP Filip Turek for environment minister, but President Pavel had refused to appoint him. He also said that he is not considering a jurisdictional challenge against the president over Turek’s non-appointment.

The two politicians also briefly discussed the strongly anti-Ukraine New Year’s speech by Parliamentary Speaker Tomio Okamura (SPD). According to Babiš, the head of state could address the matter with Okamura at the meeting of constitutional officials on January 26. He added that he and the president mainly discussed foreign policy matters.