President Klaus appoints Jan Fischer prime minister

Czech President Václav Klaus appointed Jan Fischer as the country’s new prime minister during a brief ceremony at Prague Castle on Thursday afternoon. Mr Fischer, the head of the country’s statistical office, should become the non-partisan leader of a caretaker government from May 9 until early elections in October. His appointment has been paved by a deal between the country’s two biggest political parties, the centre-right Civic Democrats and the opposition Social Democrats. They have enough votes in the lower house of Parliament to guarantee Fischer’s government of experts sufficient support in a confidence vote and pilot the country to early elections.

Author: Chris Johnstone