Czech president’s chief of staff under pressure to quit

Czech head of state Miloš Zeman’s right hand man and effective chief of staff has, reportedly, been refused top security clearance from the country’s screening authority. And that, according to the president’s own declaration, should mean he quits the job. But the things might not be so clear cut.

Vratislav Mynář, photo: CTK

Words can sometimes disappear into the ether or are quickly buried by time. But sometime they come back to haunt you. And this looks likely to be the case with this emphatic statement by president Miloš Zeman about the head of his presidential staff and right hand man, Vratislav Mynář: “Either the clearance is completed and he receives it, then he remains chancellor. Or, its not given and he stops being chancellor.”

Zeman made the comments soon after Mynář took up the high position without having the highest security clearance to see top secret documents and attend meetings where such details are discussed.

In the ensuing two years, Mynář has been continued in the top post without the security clearance. Given that the Czech president shares responsibility with the government for foreign policy, is the head of the armed services, and makes key appointment across the administrative landscape, this might be considered more than a slight handicap.

Now, however, the daily Právo has reported that the National Security Authority (NBÚ) has finally come to the conclusion that Vratislav Mynář does not merit top clearance. Mynář is for the moment refusing to comment and president Zeman says he will wait to react until he officially gets the verdict from the authority.

The news, however, has sparked an almost unanimous chorus from the Czech political scene that Mynář should quit.

The preliminary verdict is not the end of the process. Mynář can appeal to the head of the authority to overturn its verdict. That is widely deemed an unlikely scenario. He can then challenge the decision in a local court or finally turn to the Supreme Administrative Court. All that could take months, and according to some reports up to year, during which the chancellor could be expected to cling to his post.

Miloš Zeman, photo: CTK

Vratislav Mynář has courted rather more controversy than is usual as chancellor as well as attracting more than the usual misgivings about his competence for the job. Many questions were raised when it was revealed at the start of this year that he had bought a villa in a select Prague locality for a fraction of the market price. The seller was linked to a notable Prague ‘godfather,’ a shady lobbyist and fixer operating at the top levels of business and politics.

Mynář ‘s nomination to the top of the president’s staff was widely interpreted as payback for heading the campaign that got Zeman elected as head of state in the first national poll for the position in 2013. Earlier, he served as chairman of Zeman’s political party and is still head of one of its regional branches.

But it’s probably Mynář ‘s business past and ongoing connections that have caused the vetting authority to baulk at giving him the coveted clearance. Mynář notably hit the jackpot when he was involved in a successful arbitration action against the Czech state over a cancelled agreement to buy shares in one of the country’s leading steelmakers. As former leader of Zeman’s political party and election leader, he has also been seen as the link man with donors of dubious repute.