PM Fiala to propose Marek Ženíšek as new science and research minister to president

Prime Minister Petr Fiala is going to propose the appointment of Marek Ženíšek as the new Minister for Science, Research and Innovation to President Petr Pavel on Friday. The prime minister described him as an experienced politician who will be an asset to the government.

After meeting with Mr. Fiala on Friday morning, Mr. Ženíšek said that they had agreed on priorities for this election period and on increasing the budget in the field of science to prevent brain drain. The candidate for minister also said he is preparing for a meeting with the president on Tuesday.

The post of science and research minister was previously held by TOP 09's Helena Langšádlová, who resigned after her party criticised her for lack of communication and failure to sell her work to the public. Economist Pavel Tuleja was initally slated to take over her role but gave up his candidacy last Friday after it emerged that he had published poor-quality academic articles in pay-to-publish journals.

Ženíšek's nomination was approved by the leadership of his party, government coalition partners TOP 09, on Thursday.