What Czechia Is Writing About: Minister Dismisses Former Czech TV Head, Okamura Would Scrap Radio Too. ANO Loses MP, Prosecutors Warn Against Amendment

Czech Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř removed former Czech Television director Petr Dvořák from the head of the Audiovisual Fund after the government rejected its budget, and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura, declared that he would also agree to abolishing Czech Television and Czech Radio themselves. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's ANO movement lost MP David Pražák, who no longer wanted to explain some of the government's steps back home, and the chief commentator of Hospodářské noviny writes that Babiš is undermining the conditions for democracy to function. At the same time, prosecutors warn that Justice Minister Jeroným Tejc's amendment to the criminal procedure code could "immunize" specific individuals — critics link this to the Čapí hnízdo case — while negotiations over the leadership of the city continue to drag on in Prague.

Minister of Culture under fire from two sides, Okamura would scrap Czech TV and radio too

The government rejected the Audiovisual Fund's budget, and Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř subsequently removed its chairman, former Czech Television head Petr Dvořák — according to Aktuálně.cz Aktuálně.cz ↗. Forum24 describes the move as "another purge" Forum24 ↗, while Dvořák himself reacted calmly to the dismissal — he did not want to resign on his own, since, in his own words, one does not flee from a fight for a good cause iROZHLAS ↗.

This does not close the dispute over public media — on the contrary, it is widening. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura, declared that he is not attached to the existence of Czech TV and Czech Radio and would agree to abolishing both if someone submitted such a proposal Seznam Zprávy ↗. Deník N's podcast Vrtěti psem claims that Okamura in particular is benefiting most from Babiš's fight against Czech TV Deník N ↗. The dispute is also spilling over into cultural institutions — National Theatre actors declared a strike alert and are demanding Klempíř's immediate departure Novinky.cz ↗.

ANO loses an MP, Babiš faces criticism over his governing style

MP David Pražák announced the end of his membership in the ANO movement and will remain unaffiliated in the Chamber — in his own words, he is not leaving out of a need to criticize iROZHLAS ↗. He told Respekt that he no longer wanted to explain some of the government's steps back home Respekt ↗. ANO caucus leader Taťána Malá called the departure an unpleasant surprise Deník N ↗, while iDNES.cz instead quotes her as saying it was an unfair move iDNES.cz ↗.

The MP's departure comes at a time when Babiš has also drawn harsh criticism for his overall governing style. According to iROZHLAS, commentator Petr Honzejk claims the prime minister is undermining the conditions for democracy to function, while Echo24 commentator Ondřej Leinert adds in the same piece that Czech society was changed more by former President Zeman iROZHLAS ↗.

Prosecutors warn against criminal procedure amendment, critics link it to Čapí hnízdo

In a statement on Justice Minister Jeroným Tejc's amendment to the criminal procedure code, the Unie státních zástupců wrote that its goal is to "immunize specific individuals" Deník N ↗. iDNES.cz writes that prosecutors are slamming Tejc and speaking of "judicial ping-pong" iDNES.cz ↗. Respekt notes that, according to critics, the amendment to the appeals procedure is linked to the Čapí hnízdo case, which concerns Prime Minister Babiš himself Respekt ↗. For now, this is criticism from a prosecutors' organization, not a court ruling or a proven connection.

Prague still fine-tuning its coalition, city districts already signing agreements

Prague is still fine-tuning the last piece of the post-election puzzle. The STAN movement and the SPOLU coalition have reached an agreement between themselves and are negotiating with Praha sobě leader Adam Scheinherr iDNES.cz ↗. According to Seznam Zprávy, the negotiations are dragging on, but Scheinherr has already received a final offer Seznam Zprávy ↗. According to iROZHLAS, Praha sobě has agreed at city hall to two councillors instead of the originally demanded three, but has not yet confirmed the coalition iROZHLAS ↗.

Coalitions are already forming in the city districts — Prague 10 has signed a coalition agreement, and Martin Valovič of ODS remains mayor Novinky.cz ↗.

State finances: government seeks a "tax roulette," dispute over defense budget

According to Seznam Zprávy, the government is looking for a way to improve the budget and is considering who will be hit by the so-called "tax roulette" Seznam Zprávy ↗. Meanwhile, the Chamber's budget committee suspended debate on introducing an extraordinary tax on refineries Respekt ↗. At the defense committee, former minister Jana Černochová (ODS) and current Minister Jaromír Zůna clashed — according to Ekonomický deník, Černochová accused him of having "lost a year" in planning the defense budget Ekonomický deník ↗.

Under the radar

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Prague and, together with Babiš, unveiled a statue of Czech-Slovak friendship — shouts of "go back to Russia" were heard from behind the fence of the Strakova Academy Aktuálně.cz ↗. The ODS leadership dissolved its local organization in Plzeň-Slovany over post-election disputes Deník ↗, with Novinky.cz describing the incident as "more upheaval within ODS" Novinky.cz ↗. Top politicians' salaries may rise by five percent starting in January Forum24 ↗. In Prague 8, meanwhile, residents protested against the fact that the district's coalition is being formed without the winner of the municipal elections Novinky.cz ↗.

What hotinfo is following

• Prague coalition: whether Praha sobě confirms the deal with STAN and SPOLU on two councillors, or whether the negotiations still collapse.
• Audiovisual Fund: whether the fund's budget gets approved by the end of the year — otherwise it will operate under a provisional budget from January.
• Inside ANO: whether, after Pražák, more disgruntled MPs leave the movement.
• Tejc's amendment: how the ministry responds to prosecutors' criticism and what the next steps in the Chamber will be.
• State budget: how the dispute over the extraordinary refinery tax and the defense budget turns out before the final vote.