‘Zemanocracy’

Published on 26 June 2013 at 08:53

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On June 25, President Miloš Zeman named advisor Jiří Rusnok as prime minister, tasked with forming a caretaker government of “experts”. The former socialist finance minister replaces Petr Nečas, who resigned on June 17 over a corruption scandal.

Zeman’s decision goes against the will of almost all parties in parliament. The outgoing right-wing coalition wants to push through its own candidate, Miroslava Němcová, while the social-democratic opposition calls for early elections.

“Miloš Zeman has started to change a parliamentary democracy guaranteed by the constitution into a presidential system”, notes Lidové Noviny. “Until now, all the presidents opted for a PM capable of forming a majority in the parliament. […] The president has completely breached existing constitutional conventions.”

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