Bartoš: Education Minister replacement likely to be announced later this week

The replacement candidate of the Pirates and Mayors coalition for the position of Minister of Education will most likely be announced this week, Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš of the Pirate Party told news site Novinky.cz on Tuesday. The candidate will replace Petr Gazdík, a founding member of the Mayors and Independents party. Mr Gazdík chose to resign his position at the end of June due to his meetings with businessman Michal Redl, who is now charged with corruption after a police crackdown on an alleged organised crime ring in Prague.

Mr Bartoš says that the new education minister will first be proposed by the Mayors and Independents, who currently hold the position. Alternatively, the Pirate Party would consider nominating either Ostrava’s Deputy Mayor Andrea Hoffmanová, or analyst Martin Úlovec.