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President Petr Pavel told reporters in New York on Tuesday that he cannot take a position on the prime minister’s proposal to dismiss Deputy Prime Minister and Regional Development Minister Ivan Bartos until he knows the full context. Mr. Pavel said he would meet with Prime Minister Fiala, Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Bartoš and the leaders of the other coalition parties on Monday before deciding whether to comply with the prime minister’s request. According to President Pavel, it is important to preserve the stability of the government.

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.