Czech President Petr Pavel swore in two new ministers on Tuesday as part of a reshuffle of the government following the decision of the junior coalition partner, the Pirates, to leave the Cabinet. Prime Minister Petr Fiala's government retains a majority in Parliament's lower house even without the Pirates, with four other parties remaining in the coalition. The president appoints and dismisses the government ministers at the request of the prime minister.
The crisis began on September 24 when Fiala announced the dismissal of Regional Development Minister Ivan Bartos, who was the head of the Pirates party. Fiala cited a loss of trust in Bartos's ability to handle issues related to a new digital system for issuing building permits. This move was deemed a breach of the coalition agreement by the Pirates, leading to the resignation of two other ministers representing the party.
Despite the resignations, Fiala declined to accept the resignation of Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, a strong advocate for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Lipavsky chose to leave the Pirates and remain in the government. Fiala also decided to eliminate the position of the minister for legislation, which was held by the other member of the Pirates party who resigned.
These changes come after a significant victory by the opposition party ANO (YES) in last month's regional elections, where they also secured the most seats in a separate election for one-third of the seats in Parliament's upper house, the Senate. These wins provide a boost for ANO, led by former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis, ahead of next year's parliamentary election.
In addition to the new ministers, Industry and Trade Minister Lukas Vlcek was sworn in to replace Jozef Sikela, who has been nominated to be the commissioner for international partnerships in the new European Commission, the executive body of the European Union.
