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At a press conference on Thursday, outgoing Health Minister Vlastimil Válek (TOP 09) said the main challenges of his four-year term had been Covid-19, the impact of the war in Ukraine, the Czech EU Council presidency and stabilising the pharmaceutical market during global medicine shortages. He admitted it had been a mistake not to push through the so-called “patient choice”, which would allow patients to pay extra for certain treatments.

Health unions and the Czech Medical Chamber argue he is leaving the sector in worse shape that when he stepped in, citing funding problems and shortages of doctors and nurses. His successor, Adam Vojtěch (ANO), has also warned about the growing deficit in public health insurance and raised concerns about several laws due to take effect in January that were introduced under Válek.

The warm temperatures of this week will very gradually start to drop. Friday will be mostly cloudy with occasional light rain. Low cloud and fog are expected across much of the country, partly clearing by the afternoon. Sunshine will be limited to the mountains. Daytime highs will reach around 8°C.

The police will investigate discrepancies in vote counting at a polling station in Blansko (near Brno) during the October parliamentary elections. The case was referred to the police by a city prosecutor, the Brno City Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman announced. The criminal complaint was filed by the Supreme Administrative Court, which carried out a recount of votes in Blansko’s election district n.28 following a complaint from the Pirate Party.

Originally, the electoral commission had not credited the Pirates with any votes in the district, which one resident, who had voted for them, found suspicious. The recount showed the Pirates received 20 votes more than originally recorded, ANO 21 fewer, with minor adjustments for other parties. Although the overall election result was unaffected, there are suspicions that the errors may have been deliberate.

Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said that the most important element of the Czech Ministry of Defence’s agenda is that the country meets its commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence. He made the remarks at a press conference alongside outgoing Defence Minister Jana Černochová (ODS).

Fiala stressed that meeting NATO commitments is essential. He hopes the incoming ANO, SPD, and Motorists government will continue raising defence spending towards the planned 5% of GDP by 2035, as envisaged by the outgoing cabinet. The new prime minister, Andrej Babiš (ANO), has previously said these targets are unrealistic. In their policy statement, ANO, SPD and the Motorists say the defence budget should reflect the state’s current needs and the wider security situation.