The appointment of Andrej Babiš as the future Prime Minister is imminent. President Petr Pavel announced that he will appoint Babiš to office next Tuesday, after Babiš publicly declared his separation from the Agrofert conglomerate and thus aims to resolve the issue of his conflict of interest.
President Petr Pavel has announced that he will appoint the chairman of the ANO movement, Andrej Babiš, as the new Prime Minister on Tuesday, 9 December. According to Pavel, the decisive factor was that Babiš had fulfilled the previously agreed obligation and publicly explained how he intends to resolve his conflict of interest.
On Thursday evening, Babiš stated in a video that he would permanently separate from his Agrofert conglomerate. The company is not to return to him—even after a possible end to his political career. Agrofert will only pass to his heirs after his death.
“I appreciate the clear and comprehensible way in which Andrej Babiš has honoured our agreement and publicly presented the solution to his conflict of interest. Therefore, I have decided to appoint him as Prime Minister on Tuesday, 9 December, at 9 a.m. This respects the outcome of the parliamentary elections and the course of the previous coalition negotiations,” Pavel said.
According to the Presidential Office, Pavel sees the step not only as a promise to himself but, above all, as a commitment to the public. What will now be decisive is the proper implementation of the entire process.
In a video message, Babiš described his conflict of interest as “alleged” but emphasised that he is fulfilling the promises he made before the election. Voters had clearly decided to whom they wanted to entrust the office of Prime Minister. “I could have left politics after the election victory, or ANO could have nominated someone else. But you would have perceived that as a betrayal,” said Babiš.
He admitted, however, that the step was difficult: “I have decided to irrevocably separate from Agrofert. I will never own the company again, have no economic relations with it, and maintain no contact with it.”
The Agrofert conglomerate, with around 200 companies in agriculture, the food industry, and the chemical sector, is one of the country’s largest private employers. The group employs 29,000 people, approximately 18,000 of them in the Czech Republic. Its portfolio includes, among others, Lovochemie and Precheza, as well as food producers such as Kostelecké uzeniny, Krahulík, and Penam.
