Czech President Vows Continued Backing for Billionaire Prime Minister
- Premier’s first cabinet unlikely to win approval, Zeman says
- Zeman backs Babis before first round of presidential election
Czech President Milos Zeman, left and Prime Minister Andrej Babis
Photographer: MICHAL CIZEK/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
Czech President Milos Zeman, who’s vying for re-election this month, pledged to stand by Prime Minister Andrej Babis even if his minority cabinet fails to win parliamentary approval on its first try.
Speaking to lawmakers in Prague, Zeman said Wednesday that Babis’s first attempt to form a cabinet would probably fail in a confidence vote. If that happens, the president said he’d grant the premier a second mandate to form a government after he negotiates backing in parliament. The negotiations may drag on, evoking the situation in neighboring Germany where government talks have taken months, Zeman said. Lawmakers adjourned the confidence-vote session until Jan. 16.