It is still unclear what factors led to the current political crisis in the Czech Republic, which is yet to be resolved, Prague-based political analyst, Oskar Krejci, told Sputnik.
In an interview with Sputnik Czech Republic, Krejci focused on the current political crisis in the country, which he said has yet to be tackled.
The interview came amid reports that embattled Czech finance minister and oligarch, Andrej Babis, is due to resign and that the Czech government allegedly picked Babis’s successor.
Earlier this month, local media reported that Czech President Milos Zeman and the ruling coalition failed to reach common ground on the fate of Babis who is suspected of graft-related crimes.
A rift between Zeman and Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka deepened after the coalition government asked the president to remove Babis, a billionaire businessman suspected of tax dodging.
Zeman refused, saying that it was out of line with the deal that created the coalition.
He then held talks with the leaders of the three parties that make up the coalition in the city of Liberec, in an attempt to end the political standoff. The leaders said they wanted to stay in power until the October election.
A spate of rallies was held in central Prague to protest against the president’s decision not to dismiss Babis. Similar rallies were held in five other Czech cities, with protesters shouting slogans reminiscent of the 1989 anti-Communist demonstrations.
He recalled previous steps by Sobotka who at first decided to step down but then refused to do so, something that came amid Zeman’s announcement that he is not going to recall Babis.
Touching upon Sobotka finally signaling his unwillingness to work with Babis, Krejci described it as a “pre-election step by the Social-Democratic prime minister, who, as all the leftists usually do, gains points speaking out against the oligarchs”.
When asked about who could organize large-scale protests against Zeman, Krejci called it a “mystery covered in darkness”.
He warned against jumping to conclusions on who benefited from government crisis in the Czech Republic, saying that one should wait for the results of sociological surveys.
