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PoliticsCzech Republic

Czech president asks election winner to form new government

November 9, 2021

Hospitalized President Milos Zeman has formally requested that Petr Fiala lead talks with the "goal of forming a new government." Zeman's request came after a five-party coalition penned a power-sharing deal.

https://p.dw.com/p/42mLT
Petr Fiala of the center-right Together coalition
Petr Fiala of the center-right Together coalition has been tasked with forming a new government a month after electionsImage: Darko Bandic/AP Photo/picture alliance

The hospitalized president of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, announced Tuesday that he had asked Petr Fiala to lead negotiations with "the goal of forming a new government."

Faila was put forth as the candidate for the post of prime minister by a five-party coalition that agreed to a power-sharing deal on Monday, a month after winning the country's parliamentary election on October 8-9.

Fiala heads the three-party coalition Together (Civic Democratic Party, Christian Democrats, TOP 09 party), which garnered 27.8% of the October vote.

On Monday, the coalition formally agreed to work in concert with the center-left Pirate Party and the independent collective STAN, which took a combined 15.6% of the vote.

The bloc will hold 108 of 200 seats in the lower house of the Czech Republic's parliament and are far less Euroskeptic than outgoing Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his populist ANO Party, which took 27.1% of the October vote and will now be relegated to the opposition. 

Questions surrounding Zeman's health and tenure

Zeman has remained hospitalized since October 10. The 77-year-old politician is suffering from an undisclosed illness, although it is thought to be a liver disease. He will likely remain hospitalized for the next several weeks.

Zeman's tenure as president and his clearly grave state of health have been the subject of much recent debate, with lawmakers in the lower house of parliament contemplating whether to invoke article 66 of the constitution to remove him should he be unable to perform his duties.  

Zeman, who had not spoken publicly since the election, said last Friday in a radio interview that he expected to formally name Fiala prime minister. There had been much concern that Zeman might tap Babis to form a government as the two are close political allies.

Kremlin-friendly Zeman has been president of the Czech Republic since 2003, and was the first ever president in the country to be impeached, though he was not indicted. Billionaire businessman Babis, too, has been under investigation for years but has been shielded from prosecution by parliamentary immunity.

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