President to appoint Babiš prime minister ahead of referendum outcome

President Miloš Zeman will appoint ANO leader Andrej Babiš prime minister before the outcome of the Social Democratic Party‘s referendum on whether to enter into a coalition with ANO.

President Zeman announced his intention in an interview for Czech Television on Monday, saying the appointment would take place before June 15.

He said he had decided in favour of such a move in order to step up the pressure on the Social Democrats to enter into a coalition with ANO and speed up the formation of a new government.

Mr. Zeman said he expected Andrej Babiš to produce a new cabinet line-up by the end of June at the latest.