The outgoing coalition government of Petr Fiala today approved its resignation following the constituent session of the newly elected lower house of parliament. After President Petr Pavel accepts the resignation, which Fiala will submit at 4pm today, the ministers will be entrusted to hold their posts until a new cabinet is appointed.
Fiala told a press conference that the outgoing cabinet would do everything possible to make the transfer of power as smooth and dignified as possible.
The president entrusted Andrej Babis, leader of the ANO movement that won the elections with a wide margin a month ago, with forming the next cabinet. Babis has been negotiating with Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the Motorists. They have already signed the policy statement of their emerging government.
Fiala (ODS) told reporters that he would hand over the resignation of his cabinet to President Pavel at 4pm this afternoon.
The outgoing cabinet is made up of the Spolu coalition (ODS, KDU-CSL, and TOP 09), and the Mayors and Independents (STAN). When it was appointed by President Milos Zeman on 17 December 2021, it also included the Pirates, who left the government one year ago. These five parties will form the parliamentary opposition after the new elections, unless Babis’s negotiations fail.
Fiala thanked his cabinet ministers for their cooperation, and said he would hand over the country to the new government in a better condition than when he took it over four years ago. “We have passed the tests with honour, we are handing over the Czech Republic in much better shape than when we took over four years ago,” he said. “I hope that the incoming government, apart from big words and promises that mean indebting future generations, will at least continue to do something.”
Outgoing Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura (ODS) added that the interest of the outgoing government is to hand over power as quickly as possible, but that this is being prevented by Babis’s unresolved conflict of interest and the fact that the names of the future ministers are not known.
Deputy Prime Minister Vit Rakusan (STAN) emphasised that the government had managed the response to the conflict in Ukraine and the influx of refugees, and was a respected partner abroad, which will be important for their period in opposition.
Marek Vyborny, leader of the Christian Democrats and minister of agriculture, said the image of a scorched country created over the past year was false. He said the government is handing over a country in excellent shape in some parameters, which he considers to be the result of its work. Among the achievements of the outgoing cabinet, he named the changes to the pension system and the way it dealt with the conflict in Ukraine. He also mentioned the importance of good relations within the coalition.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Vlastimil Valek (TOP 09), the cooperation between the coalition parties was also fruitful at the time when the government was coming into office and facing a COVID epidemic.
