President keeping quiet about preferred option

The leaders of the two senior coalition parties met with President Miloš Zeman at his residence in Lány on Friday to discuss ways out of the current political crisis. The Civic Democrats’ Miroslava Němcová – the coalition’s nominee for prime minister – and Civic Democratic leader Martin Kuba, met with Mr Zeman for almost two hours. Ms Němcová said afterwards that the president gave no indication which way he would lean, in other words, whether he would support her bid to head the next government.

TOP 09 chairman Karel Schwarzenberg and deputy party leader Miroslav Kalousek also met with Mr Zeman on Friday: afterwards Mr Schwarzenberg suggested that the president would prefer a caretaker government. Mr Zeman could decide for that option (there have been reports speculating that former finance minister Jiří Rusnok, a close ally of the president’s, could be a potential candidate0. Mr Zeman could also try and push for early elections. He will announce which plan he favours at a press conference on Tuesday.

Author: Jan Velinger