Don't judge suitability: The Chamber of Deputies urged Pavel to appoint a Turek as a minister

The MPs called on the voices of President Petr Pavel's coalition to appoint members of the government without delay and without assessing the suitability of candidates. The call concerns Filip Turek from the Motorists.

The Chamber of Deputies, with the votes of the governing coalition, called on Petr Pavel to appoint members of the government on the proposal of the Prime Minister.

"The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic calls on the President of the Republic to respect the Constitution of the Czech Republic and to appoint members of the government without undue delay if they are proposed to him by the Prime Minister. Assessing the suitability of individual candidates for members of the government is the task of the Chamber of Deputies, which will then only express or not express its confidence in the government," reads the resolution, which was supported by 101 out of 183 deputies.

The President's Office responded by stating that it took note of the resolution. "The Chamber of Deputies may take positions on the matter, it is its inalienable right, but it cannot impose obligations on the President of the Republic or determine how he should proceed," it recalled in the statement , adding that the Head of State held discussions on the members of the government with the Prime Minister, who also learned the arguments that led the President to his decision. The position of the Head of State remains unchanged.

Opposition leaders have previously described the resolution as hypocritical and schizophrenic. It is a reaction to the head of state's decision not to appoint the honorary president of the Motorists' Union, Filip Turek, as Minister of the Environment.

Opposition representatives recalled that current coalition politicians had in the past defended the right of previous president Miloš Zeman not to appoint Jan Lipavský (now from the ODS) as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Chamber of Deputies had previously not approved the recommendation of Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09) to instead call on Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) to file a competency lawsuit against the president with the Constitutional Court. Petr Pavel would welcome this lawsuit in order to clarify the dispute over the right to appoint members of the government. The coalition did not want to agree to this.

The President refused to appoint Turek, among other things, due to "lack of respect for the Czech legal system."

Zdroj: Novinky.cz