News

Tuesday should be overcast with snow or drizzle in the eastern parts of the country. Day temperatures between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) should himself decide whether he wants to nominate the Motorists party candidate Filip Turek to the post of environment minister, President Petr Pavel told reporters ahead of Monday’s meeting with the controversial nominee.  Pavel said his reservations about Turek are so serious that the prime minister himself should take them into account, adding that the composition of the cabinet is mainly the prime minister’s responsibility.

Turek has come under fire for allegedly posting racist, sexist, and homophobic statements on social media, along with references to Adolf Hitler. Following Monday’s meeting with the president Turek said he was uncertain of the result but was grateful that he had been given a chance to explain cerain things and put them into context.

President Pavel said earlier that he is willing to meet with Turek, but expressed doubt that such a meeting would change his view that Turek is unsuited to hold any ministerial post.

The Environment Ministry, which Turek aspires to head, is being temporarily managed by Foreign Minister Petr Macinka from the same party.

The cabinet met on Monday to debate the draft state budget for next year, which it plans to approve on 19 January. The governing coalition has already rejected the proposal of the previous government led by Petr Fiala, which envisaged a deficit of CZK 286 billion. As a result, the Czech Republic will enter the new year under a provisional budget, limiting state spending. Finance Minister Alena Schillerová said on Czech Television that a higher deficit may prove inevitable. According to cabinet members, the alternative could include halting important transport infrastructure projects.

Within cost-cutting measures the government has approved the elimination of 322 civil service positions from the start of January. The largest reductions will affect the Office of the Government, the Finance Ministry and the Industry Ministry. According to Prime Minister Babiš, this is only the first round, with further savings still to be sought.

At the start of this year, there were 73,520 civil service positions.

Triple Olympic champion Ester Ledecká finished ninth in the women’s Super-G at the Alpine Ski World Cup in Val d’Isère. After placing sixth in Saturday’s downhill, she secured her second top-ten finish of the season. Italy’s Sofia Goggia won the race, with Ledecká finishing 0.94 seconds behind.