The Czech Republic is on the verge of a new government: ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě have agreed on their coalition programme. At the centre of the negotiations were, in addition to political priorities, the appointments to the key positions in the Chamber of Deputies.
The negotiations on the government programme of the emerging three-party coalition of ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě have been completed. As Karel Havlíček (ANO) announced on Wednesday after the meeting of the party representatives on Czech television (ČT24), there are “no disagreements” remaining. The final programme is to be presented to the public on Monday, 3 November, and signed together with the coalition agreement. On the same day, the newly elected Chamber of Deputies will hold its inaugural session.
According to Havlíček, the programme will also be submitted to President Petr Pavel immediately after its publication. “We can say with certainty today that everything is one hundred per cent ready,” he said. The last open points, which were still discussed on Wednesday, only involved minor clarifications – nothing that could have divided the coalition.
Tomio Okamura, leader of the right-wing SPD, expressed a similar view: “There are no disagreements whatsoever. The discussion was very factual, constructive and positive.” Petr Macinka, head of Motoristé sobě, also spoke of a “factual and efficient” agreement.
New Leadership Structure in the Czech Chamber of Deputies
A central point of the negotiations was the appointment of the new leadership of the Chamber of Deputies. The future coalition has nominated SPD leader Tomio Okamura as candidate for the position of Speaker. At the Chamber’s inaugural session, he will stand in a secret ballot – the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) have announced that Jan Bartošek, the former Vice-Speaker, will stand as his rival candidate.
The number of Vice-Speakers is to be reduced from six to four compared with the previous legislative period. ANO is proposing Patrik Nacher as First Vice-Speaker, while Motoristé sobě are nominating their MP Jiří Barták. Two further Vice-Speaker positions are to go to the opposition – specifically to ODS and STAN.
The Civic Democrats (ODS) plan to nominate Jan Skopeček again, while STAN intends to put forward the current Interior Minister and party leader Vít Rakušan. However, as Rakušan is still part of the outgoing government, the appointment to this post remains open for the time being. “There is currently no other way to resolve this,” explained ANO Deputy Chairwoman Alena Schillerová.
According to Schillerová, the representatives of the future coalition “took note” of the opposition’s nominations without further comment. The final appointments will be decided in the parliamentary group meetings – the vote itself will be held in secret.
