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
French foreign minister says US military operations in Caribbean violate international law
- US officials said on Tuesday the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, had moved into the region, adding to the eight warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft already in the Caribbean
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Canada: France is worried about US military operations in the Caribbean because they violate international law, the country’s foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday.
The US military has carried out at least 19 strikes so far against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coasts of Latin America, killing at least 76 people.
“We have observed with concern the military operations in the Caribbean region, because they violate international law and because France has a presence in this region through its overseas territories, where more than a million of our compatriots reside,” Barrot said on the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ summit in Canada.
“They could therefore be affected by the instability caused by any escalation, which we obviously want to avoid.”
US officials said on Tuesday the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, had moved into the region, adding to the eight warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft already in the Caribbean.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged that the US buildup is designed to drive him from power.
