A week after the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, which were held on October 3 and 4 and in which the first place was won by the hitherto opposition movement “Action of Dissatisfied Citizens“ (ANO) of former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, an agreement in principle has already been reached for a new coalition government and the ministerial seats have already been distributed among the entities that will be part of the new governing configuration.
ANO achieved a convincing victory in the elections, receiving 34.5% of the vote (which guarantees itself 80 deputies in the new composition of the lower house of parliament).
In second place, with 23.3%, was the previously ruling center-right coalition “Together“ (52 MPs). Third place was taken by the liberal “Mayors and Independents“, which was also part of the government until now, with 11.2% (22 MPs). Fourth place was taken by the liberal and pro-European Pirate Party, which was part of the government until last year, with 8.9% of the vote (18 MPs).
Fifth place was taken by the far-right party “Freedom and Direct Democracy” (SPD) with 7.8% of the vote (15 MPs).
The sixth entity in the new parliament is the right-wing movement “Motorists for Their Own”, which won 6.8% of the vote (13 MPs). "Motorists", who oppose the European Union's green policy, enter parliament for the first time.
Even before the elections, "Together", "Mayors and Independents" and the Pirate Party categorically ruled out any post-vote cooperation with the ANO. This largely predetermined the development of post-election events. Already on his victorious election night last Saturday, Andrej Babiš said that he would talk with the SPD and the "Motorists" about forming a new government. Together ANO, SPD and "Motorists" will have 108 deputies in the new parliament, giving them a relatively comfortable majority in the 200-seat lower house.
The main obstacle to negotiating a new government was some of the SPD's views, namely their election promise to fight for a referendum on leaving the European Union and NATO. However, this obstacle was skillfully overcome after the far-right party stated that it would participate in the new government through its experts, rather than through political nominations.
In this way, an understanding was quickly reached. On Friday (October 10), the Czech media reported that the ANO had reached an agreement with the SPD and “Motorists for Ourselves“ on the distribution of ministerial positions in the new government.
There will be a total of 16 ministers in the new government, including the prime minister. The ANO will have nine seats in the cabinet, the SPD will have three seats, and the “Motorists“ will have four.
In addition to the prime minister, the ANO will also have the posts of minister of finance; industry; health; labor; education; interior; regional development, and justice. SPD experts will become ministers of defense, agriculture, and transport. “Motorists“ representatives will be the ministers of foreign affairs, culture, environment, and sports.
It is expected that two of the most important ministerial positions will be filled by long-time associates of Andrej Babis - the forecasts are that the minister of finance will be the deputy chairwoman of the ANO, Alena Šillerová, and the minister of industry and trade - Karel Havlicek, who is also the deputy chairwoman of the ANO. Havlicek was Minister of Industry and Trade, as well as Minister of Transport in the previous Babis government, and Šillerová - Minister of Finance. The current MEP and honorary chairman of “Motorists for Their Own” Filip Turek is expected to become Minister of Foreign Affairs.
It has also been agreed that the new Speaker of Parliament will be from the SPD, according to a report on Czech national television. Talks on coordinating the priorities between the coalition partners' programs will continue next week.
President Petr Pavel announced that he would nominate the new Prime Minister at the earliest after the first session of the new Parliament, which is scheduled for November 3. The head of state also said that the formation of a new government could not happen faster given the constitutional procedure. The President asked Babis to brief him on the priorities and orientation of the future government.
The Head of State highlighted as guiding principles that must be taken into account when forming the new cabinet, the Czech Republic's categorical affiliation to the European Union and NATO, foreign policy placing special emphasis on human rights, and the strengthening of democratic institutions.