PRAGUE: Czech President Milos Zeman on Wednesday swore in a new minority government led by a populist billionaire whose centrist movement scored a landslide in a parliamentary election almost two months ago.
Andrej Babis’ ANO (YES) movement won 78 seats in the 200-seat lower house of Parliament in October. Babis was sworn in as prime minister last week. The new Cabinet has 14 ministers.
Known for his slogan “everybody steals” and resolve to run the Czech Republic like a company, Babis opposes setting a date for adopting the euro as the country’s currency and the European Union’s plans to disperse new migrants to Europe among EU members.
“We will fight for security of our citizens, security in Europe, against the illegal migration,” he said Wednesday.
Babis will have a chance to discuss the thorny migrant relocation system with leaders of other EU member states in Brussels on Thursday.
Justice Minister Robert Pelikan, who was part of the previous coalition government led by Social Democrats, is among those keeping his post. Pelikan is deciding whether a Russian man who faces charges of hacking computers at American companies can be extradited to the US.
Czech authorities arrested Yevgeniy Nikulin in Prague in cooperation with the FBI in October 2016. He is accused by US prosecutors of penetrating computers at Silicon Valley firms including LinkedIn and Dropbox in 2012.
Former Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky, who is a supporter of the country’s pro-Western orientation, was appointed as foreign minister.
Babis faces fraud charges, a reason why no other parties agreed to create a coalition government with ANO. To rule, the new government must survive a parliamentary confidence vote scheduled for Jan 10.
If Babis’ government fails to win the confidence vote, President Zeman, an ally, said he would ask him to form a government again.
Another second failure would leave it to the new speaker of Parliament’s lower house, an ANO member, to select a prime minister.
New Czech government led by billionaire Babis sworn in
New Czech government led by billionaire Babis sworn in
Spain cites Israeli ‘insults’ in decision to withdraw ambassador
- With the ambassador’s removal, Spain’s diplomatic representation will now be handled by its charge d’affaires
- “It’s become clear that Spain’s goodwill in maintaining cordial relations hasn’t been reciprocated,” Albares said
MADRID: Spain on Thursday explained its decision to permanently withdraw its ambassador to Israel, citing repeated “insults and slanders” by the country.
Veteran diplomat Ana Maria Salomon Perez was officially relieved of her duties on Tuesday at the proposal of Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.
She was recalled from Tel Aviv in September after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez unveiled measures designed to “stop the genocide in Gaza, pursue its perpetrators and support the Palestinian population.”
With the ambassador’s removal, Spain’s diplomatic representation will now be handled by its charge d’affaires, a lower-ranking official whose status is meant to reflect the downgraded relations.
Israel withdrew its ambassador to Madrid in 2024 after Spain recognized Palestinian statehood and has since also been represented by a charge d’affaires.
“It’s become clear that Spain’s goodwill in maintaining cordial relations hasn’t been reciprocated — not diplomatically — through an increase in Israel’s representation in Spain, nor by restraining insults and slanders aimed at the Spanish people,” Albares said.
“As a result, keeping an ambassador who had been called back for consultations for six months no longer made sense,” he added during an interview with Spanish public television.
Spain’s decision to definitively retire the ambassador follows years of tense exchanges between the two governments.
Sanchez, one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s war on Gaza, has also opposed the US-Israeli military strikes on Iran that began on February 28.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sarr has accused the Spanish government of “standing with tyrants” by opposing the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
He also accused Spain of being “complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes” after it recognized a Palestinian state.
Spain only established diplomatic ties with Israel in 1986 following the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975.
Under Franco, Spain avoided recognizing Israel and maintained closer diplomatic ties with Arab states.
