President meets with nominee for environment minister

On Thursday morning, President Petr Pavel met with Igor Červený (Motorists’ Party), the nominee for environment minister. As with other prospective ministers ahead of the formation of Andrej Babiš’s (ANO) government, Pavel wanted to hear the candidate’s views firsthand. He has previously indicated that he expects to appoint Červený on Monday, February 23, which would complete Babiš’s cabinet and end Foreign Minister Petr Macinka’s (Motorists’ Party) temporary oversight of the Environment Ministry.

By nominating MP Červený, the Motorists’ Party has stepped back from its earlier insistence that their only candidate is MP Filip Turek, whom Pavel had refused to appoint, citing, among other things, Turek’s views and public statements.

Červený did not disclose the topics discussed during his meeting with Pavel, but said the conversation took place in a friendly atmosphere. “I answered the president’s questions,” he told reporters.