Government talks in the Czech Republic have descended into chaos after the leading candidate for foreign minister was embroiled in a scandal over social media posts, Politico reports.
The The Motorists for Themselves (Motoristé sobě) party has threatened to walk out of talks with populist Andrej Babiš’s ANO and far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) over the scandal.
Czech media outlet Deník N reported over the weekend that Filip Turek, a member of the Motorist party, had posted racist, sexist and homophobic comments on Facebook before joining politics. Turek has denied any involvement in the posts. The politician said in a video posted on Facebook that he absolutely rejects the idea that he could have written such a thing, or that he could have even thought of it. “This has crossed all boundaries,” Turek said.
The social media activity is currently under investigation by police, and Turek’s party has said it will file a case against Deník N.
Petr Macinka, the chairman of the Motorist party, has threatened to disrupt coalition talks. He said no replacement for Turek was being sought, adding that the party was either in government or in opposition, there is no third option.
Romea, an organization representing the Roma community, has filed a petition calling on Babiš and Czech President Petr Pavel not to nominate Turek as a minister. Pavel, who has the official power to appoint ministers, said there would be a huge problem if the posts were genuine and made by Turek.
Turek has been embroiled in scandals since the start of his political career, when he won a seat in the European Parliament last year. There has been an investigation into the alleged use of the Nazi salute, and the politician’s ex-girlfriend has accused him of rape and violence. Turek has called all the accusations absurd.
Babiš, who won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in early October, wants to form a government with the Motorist party and the SPD. Without the support of the Motorist party, he will not be able to form a majority, and then Babiš will only have to hope that one of the parties that previously refused to cooperate with the ANO will agree to do so.
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