Okamura: Draft declaration for meeting with president unacceptable to coalition

Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura (SPD) criticized President Pavel’s position ahead of Monday’s foreign policy consultations saying that the proposed draft of a joint declaration which coalition leaders received on Friday was “absolutely unacceptable to the entire coalition”. Okamura said the President’s Office has clearly failed to notice that the new government has a different foreign policy program and outlook from that of its predecessor.

Okamura said that talks on foreign policy should also address the issue of ambassadors and the president’s foreign trips. He added that the coalition believes the president is not acting in accordance with the Constitution in refusing to appoint MP Filip Turek (Motorists for Themselves) as a minister, an aspect which would also influence the tone of the debate.