Minister seeking to start discussions on possible impeachment of President Klaus

The Green Party Education Minister Ondřej Liška has stated that he intends to push for discussions on the possible impeachment of the Czech President Václav Klaus. The comments were made in an interview with the daily Právo, in which Liška stated that he does not consider Mr Klaus to be his president, and that if impeachment proceeding were seriously discussed, he would be “at the front of the line.” The Education Minister criticized the Czech president for his activities opposing the Lisbon Treaty, which Mr Liška stated were far beyond the purview of the role assigned to Mr Klaus as an apolitical president. Under Czech law, the president can only be removed from office for treason, or if he or she is unable to carry out their function. Commenting on the difficulty of removing the Czech president from his post, Mr Liška stated that: at the point when the head of state starts actively undermining the foreign policy of the government he is supposed to represent, then a serious discussion about impeachment must be undertaken. Most Green Party members have long opposed the Czech president, in particular for his controversial views on man-made climate change.