Christian Democrats to debate further action over rejected nominee for post of environment minister

The Christian Democrats of the ruling coalition will meet on Friday to consider further action after President Miloš Zeman refused to appoint their nominee Petr Hladík to the post of environment minister. Party leader Marian Jurečka has indicated that, since President Zeman’s mandate ends in March, the party may choose to wait rather than look for a new nominee.

Hladík said after a meeting with Zeman on Wednesday that the president was not ready to appoint him to office. The president reportedly expressed reservations regarding lack of experience and Hladík's involvement in a corruption case pertaining to the allocation of city flats in Brno, where he is deputy mayor.  The police raided Hladík's office but have not proposed filing charges against him.