Turek’s appointment as government commissioner for climate policy sparks criticism
The tug of war between the president and the new coalition government over the unsuccessful nomination of Filip Turek to the post of environment minister on Monday brought a surprise move from the cabinet, which made him government commissioner for climate policy.
The failure of the Motorists’ party to push through its nominee, honorary party chair Filip Turek, to a ministerial post in the new cabinet has filled the front pages of Czech dailies for weeks now. When the idea that Turek, who has come under fire for allegedly making racist, sexist and homophobic comments, met with heated opposition, the party nominated him to the post of environment minister instead. And it has insisted that he should get the portfolio, despite President Pavel’s point blank refusal to appoint him to the post.
On Monday – just one day before the Babiš cabinet asks the lower house for a vote of confidence – Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced that the coalition had found a solution that would satisfy the Motorist party: the appointment of Filip Turek as government commissioner for climate policy.
“The move is a temporary solution proposed by the Motorists party, which is intended to allow Turek to start working on his agenda at the Ministry of the Environment,” Mr. Babiš said.
Under the agreement reached, Turek is to coordinate climate policy across government ministries. He will also engage in negotiations with individual expert groups, focus on the economic impacts of proposed changes, and represent the Czech Republic at selected EU-level and informal international meetings.
Motorists’ party leader and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, who has been tasked with overseeing the Environment Ministry, welcomed the solution, saying that key agendas would receive new momentum and that the ministry would begin to operate almost as if it had a full-fledged minister. He confirmed that Turek would also attend cabinet meetings.
The move has sparked heated criticism from opposition MPs who say that the Motorists have found a way to circumvent the president’s rejection of their nominee and the prime minister has agreed to it since he needs to maintain unity in the ruling coalition ahead of Wednesday’s confidence vote.
They moreover claim that the solution is unconstitutional. Civic Democrat leader and former prime minister, Petr Fiala argued that a government commissioner “is not and cannot replace a minister.”
Several legal experts share this view. Constitutional lawyer Ondřej Preuss of Charles University said the proposed arrangement cannot work, and certainly not effectively. “Ministry officials and other bodies cannot accept instructions from a private individual. No such authorization exists in law,” he said.
Constitutional expert Tomáš Nahodil pointed out that a government envoy cannot stand in for a minister at cabinet meetings. While the current environment minister may be represented by a deputy, Nahodil said, that deputy has no voting rights—and a commissioner has no role there at all.
Motorists’ party leader Petr Macinka responded to the criticism by saying the move was not a constitutional solution, but a technical one. “A constitutional solution should follow, but for that we will need the cooperation of the president. For now, we do not consider the matter fully resolved,” he said.
Political commentators note, however that the president is unlikely to change his stance and predict that the situation may drag for weeks and months.
