‘Seeking a prime minister’

Published on 18 June 2013 at 10:22

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“The [ruling right-wing] Civic Democrats (ODS) are facing an uneasy challenge. By Friday, they have to find a new prime minister who will be acceptable for party members, coalition partners and, most of all, for President Miloš Zeman,” writes the Prague daily the day after Petr Nečas resigned as Czech PM and party chairman following the arrest of his closest aide Jana Nagyová.

Martin Kuba, current minister of Trade and Industry was appointed new party leader on June 17 but, due to his close ties with one of country’s “godfathers”, he is unacceptable to conservative coalition partners TOP09 and centre-right liberal LIDEM.

The list of potential candidates includes Jiří Pospíšil, a former justice minister, who is one of the country’s most popular politicians; the head of the lower house of Parliament Miroslava Němcová; and Transport Minister Zbyněk Stanjura.

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The president’s position on Nečas’s successor is not clear, with some close allies claiming the socialist opposition should form a new government while others want the formation of a caretaker government.

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