In the Czech Republic, a month-long wait for the naming of the next head of government because of President Miloš Zeman’s poor health has ended with the appointment of Petr Fiala as the country’s next prime minister, British public broadcaster BBC reports.
On Sunday, November 28, Zeman, who tested positive for coronavirus last week, announced the appointment from inside a plexiglass box in a state room at his residence, the Lany Chateau, near Prague. Zeman got infected just after a long period in hospital intensive care for unrelated problems. Fiala is the Civic Democrats chairman, who won the October Czech parliamentary election.
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The Czech President stated in a microphone inside the sealed box, he would spend the next two weeks interviewing nominees for minister, even though the choice of candidates is for the prime minister-designate. The interviews will continue until 13 December, at which point the new government as a whole can be appointed to take over from current acting prime Minister Andrej Babiš, BBC reports.
Reportedly, a key objective for the next Czech government will be the state of public finances, hit by the pandemic and measures meant to tame it, as well as generous spending by the outgoing government which raised pensions and state employees wages, while it pushed through large tax cuts.
Czech President appoints new prime minister – Fiala
