Lower House chief Okamura reverses course on NATO Assembly delegation

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura (SPD) has reversed his position on whether Parliament should send a delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He confirmed the change to Novinky.cz, saying it was agreed by representatives of the emerging coalition.

The lower house will dispatch two lawmakers, as originally planned. One seat will go to career diplomat Karel Beran, elected on the Motorists' ticket. The second spot will be offered to the parties of the outgoing coalition.

The decision came following severe criticism from the as yet ruling parties who slammed the Chamber’s new leadership for blocking the foreign trips. Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala described the decision as “disgraceful” and a gamble with national security. Lower house chief Tomio Okamura countered that the lower house would not serve as a “travel agency” as he claimed it had under the leadership of his predecessor Markéta Pekarová Adamová.