Prime minister designate Petr Fiala says he is ready to take over responsibility for the country

Prime minister designate Petr Fiala has welcomed the news of his upcoming appointment telling journalists that in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the energy crisis and the need to address budgetary issues, it was important that a new government be appointed to office as soon as possible. He said the technical details of how his appointment would take place were still being settled with the Office of the President, and that he hoped to be able to have a longer conversation with the head of state on Sunday to debate the immediate steps leading up to the appointment of his cabinet. He said the five parties of the nascent government coalition were ready to accept responsibility for the country immediately, adding that until the new cabinet took over, the opposition would respect the steps taken by the Babiš administration to counter the coronavirus epidemic.