President Zeman says he will not name Jan Lipavský foreign minister

Czech President Miloš Zeman officially announced on Friday that he will not name Jan Lipavský Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Pirate Party member, who was nominated for the position by Prime Minister designate Petr Fiala, is not sufficiently qualified according to the president who stated Mr Lipavský’s distanced position towards Visegrad Group cooperation and Israel among the reasons for not agreeing to name him the next head of Czech diplomacy. He also stated that Mr Lipavský only holds a BA in International Relations.

In an interview for Czech Television earlier this week, Petr Fiala said that he would consider it necessary to file a constitutional lawsuit if the president refused to name one of the candidates. Meanwhile, President Zeman has said that the constitution does not oblige him to accept a list of nominees automatically.

Shortly after the president's announcement, Petr Fiala tweeted that it is time for the Constitutional Court to finally decide whose competency it is to name future government ministers and that he will announce the coalition's next steps after his meeting with the president on Monday.

The president and prime minister designate are expected to meet on Monday, to discuss how to proceed forward.