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Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has announced that he will propose the dismissal of Pirate Party leader Ivan Bartoš from his post as deputy prime minister and minister for regional development. The head of government said Bartoš had failed to secure the digitalization of construction management and, does not even acknowledge the mistakes made. Mr. Fiala said that he would ask the party to propose a candidate for the job who would be up to the task.

The prime minister stressed that he was not terminating the coalition agreement with the Pirate Party as such, saying he was highly satisfied with the performance of the two other Pirate Party ministers in the government – Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and Minister for Legislation Michal Šalomoun.

Fiala's surprise announcement came just hours after Mr. Bartoš assured the media that his party and he himself would remain in government. At the weekend, the Pirate Party suffered a crushing defeat in the regional and Senate elections after which Bartoš resigned as party leader along with the whole party leadership.

The flood damage estimate in Czechia, based on insured property claims, has now reached CZK 19.3 billion, the CTK news agency reported, citing financial companies. The estimate for business insurance claims accounts for 61 percent of the total. According to insurance companies, this year’s floods were the second-largest natural disaster since the founding of the independent Czech Republic in 1993. Only the massive floods that hit the country in August 2002 caused more damage. According to Bloomberg, the insured losses caused by the floods in Central Europe will amount to two to three billion euros.

More and more Czechs are choosing to live in rented accommodation because of the high cost of housing, which is leading to a steady rise in rent prices, the news site Novinky.cz reported. The demand is so great that tens of people come to see one property in the big cities. According to KPMG, rents in Prague have risen by an average 10  percent year-on-year, and will continue to rise if the long-term imbalance between supply and demand continues. According to real estate agencies, up to 70 people apply to view one flat-to-rent in Prague, and around 40 do so in Brno.

Charity organizations and NGOs have raised more than CZK 370 million to date to help people hit by the recent floods in Czechia. Most of the money raised was collected by the largest Czech charity organization People in Need, while tens of millions were raised by Charitas Czech Republic and ADRA. Some NGOs have also announced material collections or are involved in providing volunteers to help in the affected areas. People have also been donating to food banks. Both Czech Radio and Czech Television organized charity concerts in aid of the flooded regions.