Roman Prymula, former Minister of Health, ex-adviser to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and leading Czech epidemiologist, is to be enlisted as an adviser to President Miloš Zeman. “As the Prime Minister rightly says, his social intelligence is not ideal. But as an epidemiologist, he is excellent,” said Zeman. The position is said to be unpaid. Photo Credit: Vlada.cz (Cropped).
Czech Rep., Mar 2 (BD) – Roman Prymula has been listed among 15 advisers to Czech President Miloš Zeman. Less than a fortnight ago, the former Minister of Health was advising Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) on management of the coronavirus situation. He was abruptly fired from this role after attending a European League football match.
On the day of the match, Prymula had called for a hard lockdown in the afternoon, before going to a football stadium in Prague later that evening to watch Slavia Prague play against Leicester City. After the match, Babiš explained that Prymula “lacks social intelligence,” and immediately announced that he would not be working with Prymula any longer.
This was not the first time that Prymula had caused a political storm. In October, he was seen leaving a restaurant without a mask, in breach of the rules in place at the time when he was Minister of Health.
However, President Zeman does not share the Prime Minister’s concerns and appears to be unfazed by Prymula’s conduct. On Sunday, Zeman told Prima Television that Prymula, widely regarded as a close ally of the president, would be invited to act as an unpaid adviser, adding: ‘‘I will work with him, my dear, not as a visitor to football matches, although I do like Slavia, but as the best Czech epidemiologist.”
