Does the President Hold Parliament in Contempt? Let Him Take More Time to Reconsider, Says Macinka

Foreign Minister Petr Macinka suggested that the Castle’s response to a parliamentary resolution calling on the president to appoint members of the government without delay when proposed by the prime minister may have been issued without the president’s knowledge. Through his office, Petr Pavel said that the resolution adopted on Friday changes nothing about his stance on Filip Turek.

“I currently see this as a statement by Mr. Vít Kolář, the president’s spokesperson. The president is in Ukraine, so I don’t know how much opportunity he had to think it through,” Macinka said on Friday on Czech Radio Radiožurnál.

In response to the Chamber of Deputies’ resolution urging the president to comply with the Constitution when appointing ministers, the president’s office said on Friday afternoon that the president takes note of the adopted resolution.

The resolution was proposed by Sports Minister Boris Šťastný (Motorists) and was supported by 101 of the 183 MPs present, exclusively from the governing coalition of ANO, SPD, and Motorists for Themselves.

“The President of the Republic conducts negotiations on members of the government exclusively with the Prime Minister. He has communicated his arguments for not appointing the proposed candidate to the Prime Minister and considers them sufficiently reasoned and not in conflict with the Constitution or constitutional conventions. The Chamber of Deputies may adopt positions on the matter; this is its inalienable right, but it cannot impose obligations on the President of the Republic or determine how he should proceed,” the Castle’s Communications Department wrote in a press release.

Nevertheless, the leader of the Motorists believes that Pavel likely needs more time to reconsider.

“I would like to give the president a bit more time to think it over and reflect on it, because he is now getting into a situation where significant constitutional institutions are standing against him,” Macinka believes.

He added that Pavel does not show sufficient respect for the Chamber of Deputies as an institution. “I don’t know whether he will also hold the lower house of the Czech Parliament in contempt,” Macinka said.

“The lower house of the Czech Parliament called on the president to take action and tried, through this resolution, to tell him: Mr. President, you are not here to assess the suitability of candidates for government; you are here to appoint them. You assess the suitability of the prime minister, while the prime minister selects his ministers. It is we, the Chamber of Deputies, that assesses the government by either granting or denying it confidence. And this Chamber, which granted confidence to our government, simultaneously delivered this message to the president,” the head of diplomacy stated.

On Monday, the government approved Turek’s appointment as the new government envoy for climate policy and the Green Deal.

“This is a temporary solution so that he can work on his agenda at the Ministry of the Environment,” Babiš said after the cabinet meeting. “This is not a constitutional, but a technical solution,” Macinka, who has been entrusted with managing the Ministry of the Environment, explained at the time.

In practice, the Ministry of the Environment will continue to be run by Macinka together with deputy ministers. He said he would also consult his decisions with Turek, who has not yet given up on becoming Minister of the Environment.

Macinka said on the radio today that Turek will most likely perform the role of climate envoy without pay. It will certainly not be an employment relationship, and an agreement may not even be necessary, he said.

President Pavel is convinced that Turek should not hold any position in the government.

Source: iDnes