President Zeman says new ministers will be required to produce clean screening certificates

President Zeman has said he expects all ministers in the country’s new cabinet to produce clean screening certificates. According to a law passed shortly after the fall of communism, all senior civil servants must undergo security screening to prove that they didn't collaborate with the former communist secret police. Although the legislation does not apply to government ministers former presidents have always enforced this condition. President Zeman’s spokeswoman Hana Burianová told Lidové Noviny that the present head of state would do likewise. The paper notes that this is undoubtedly a message for the leader of the ANO party, food magnate Andrej Babiš who is fighting to clear his name in Slovakia after appearing on the list of stb collaborators. A Slovak court is expected to rule on the case in January of next year at the earliest, the paper says.