Social Democrats poll on coalition with ANO to run till mid-June

An internal referendum of the Social Democrats on whether to go into government with ANO will run from May 21 until June 14, party officials said. The results will be published on June 15. Chairman Jan Hamáček said that prior to the vote the names of the party’s nominees for the five portfolios the Social Democrats should get in the cabinet will be announced.

ANO leader Andrej Babiš says if the Social Democrats do not approve a coalition of the two parties one option could be early elections to take place in May next year at the same time as elections to the European Parliament.

If a deal between ANO and the Social Democrats is signed, their minority coalition would likely be supported in key votes by the Communist Party, who would be playing a role in government for the first time since 1989. For their part, the Communists say they would not back a government that expanded US military missions abroad.