What Czechia Is Talking About: Turek defends his remarks on mustard gas, opposition attacks Babiš with his own words. Brussels is holding back Agrofert's subsidies

MP Filip Turek denied that his remarks about chemical substances in the Šumava were an election-campaign maneuver, yet at the same time commentators and the opposition are quoting Prime Minister Andrej Babiš with his own words from four years ago. Meanwhile, the European Commission confirmed in a letter that Babiš's conflict of interest surrounding Agrofert remains unresolved, even though the state fund continues to pay the company subsidies. At the same time, the government wants to abolish the regular price increases for highway vignettes and has exempted part of health benefits from tax.

Turek defends his remarks on mustard gas, opposition attacks Babiš with his own words

MP Filip Turek told Aktuálně.cz that his statements about chemical substances discovered in the Šumava were not merely an election-campaign maneuver ahead of the autumn municipal and Senate elections. He also defended the whole party's conduct in the case reported by Deník N on Wednesday — namely, Environment Minister Igor Červený's plan to award the remediation of the site without a public tender to a firm linked to a businesswoman from the ranks of Motoristé. Aktuálně.cz ↗

Aktuálně noted that the problem itself is not new — the toxic military dump in the Šumava has been an issue for six years, and Motoristé merely drew attention to an old problem, not a new leak. Aktuálně.cz ↗ Deník N's morning summary covered both angles at once — Červený's contract plan as well as the fact that the Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the building act that same evening. Deník N ↗

On this topic, the opposition focused directly on the Prime Minister. Former Prime Minister and former ODS chairman Petr Fiala, according to Forum24, caught Babiš out using Babiš's own words — three sentences from a four-year-old recording were enough. The outlet does not independently verify the details of the quote; it reflects the opposition party's interpretation. Forum24 ↗ Current ODS chairman Martin Kupka commented on the Prime Minister in a similar vein — according to Forum24, Babiš's answer to journalists riled him up, and he sent the Prime Minister his own "hint." Forum24 ↗

Political commentator Jindřich Šídlo wrote in a commentary for iROZHLAS that Motoristé are turning the government into a farce and that Babiš will have to decide whether the circus around them isn't already too big — this is his own assessment, not a quoted statement by the Prime Minister. iROZHLAS ↗

Brussels keeps Babiš's conflict of interest open, fund continues paying Agrofert

The European Commission confirmed in a letter that it still does not consider the Prime Minister's conflict of interest surrounding the Agrofert holding resolved, even though Babiš transferred the assets placed in it into a trust fund, RSVP Trust. iROZHLAS ↗ Aktuálně.cz added that MEPs warn of the risk this poses to Czechia's reputation as well as to the very subsidies the country draws from the EU. Aktuálně.cz ↗

Nevertheless, Czechia could not halt the subsidies for Agrofert — the Commission has so far only suspended their reimbursement while it reviews the matter, so firms within the holding continue to receive payments from the state budget. Aktuálně.cz ↗ The risk that the Commission will ultimately not approve the payments and that Czechia will have to reclaim the money is thus for now borne by the state budget, not the recipient.

Rakušan and billionaires target ANO voters ahead of the autumn elections

According to Deník N, STAN chairman Vít Rakušan no longer wants to rely solely on voter transfers from the rest of the opposition and is once again seeking to win over ANO voters — a move the paper says would tear down one of the long-standing barriers of Czech politics. Deník N ↗ Polls are so far proving him right, at least at the municipal level — according to SeznamZprávy, STAN is crushing ODS in the polls and has broken through its long-standing problem with national visibility. SeznamZprávy ↗

The pre-election battle is also being fought through financing. Novinky found that several businesspeople have given opposition parties millions of crowns for the Senate campaign. Novinky ↗ A commentary on info.cz noted that the planned taxation of owners of multiple apartments would have one political side effect — it would please precisely the voters of Babiš's ANO movement. info.cz ↗

Petr Fiala personally joined the campaign as well, coming to support Senate candidate Dagmar Pecková in a Prague district. She admitted to iDNES.cz that she feels like a newcomer in politics. iDNES.cz ↗ A commentary in Lidové noviny, by contrast, tempered expectations for the Milion chvilek movement — according to the author, this time it will not decide the election and has offered nothing inspiring. Lidové noviny ↗

Babiš pledges a safe and promising Czechia at the V4 summit

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš traveled to Slovakia, where he discussed fuel prices and the EU budget with the prime ministers of the V4 countries. iDNES.cz ↗ In Bratislava, according to Novinky, he praised Czechia as the safest and most promising country in Europe. Novinky ↗

State finances: highway vignettes won't get pricier, health benefits partly tax-free

The government wants to scrap the regular indexation of highway vignette prices introduced by the previous government. According to iROZHLAS, opposition ODS chairman Martin Kupka points out that this will ultimately cost drivers more anyway, just through a different route. iROZHLAS ↗ Novinky summed up the concrete consequence in one sentence — highway vignettes will not get more expensive starting next year. Novinky ↗

The Chamber of Deputies also rejected Senate amendments to the electronic sales registration system, including the exemption of cashless payments, so the system remains in its original, stricter form. Hospodářské noviny ↗ The government also made a final decision on employee health benefits — the cap remains, but part of the benefits will now be tax-free, in order to channel more private money into prevention. Hospodářské noviny ↗

Under the radar

ODS chairman Martin Kupka reprimanded MP and former Justice Minister Eva Decroix over her proposal to ease the rules of the so-called child certificate for perpetrators of violent and sexual crimes — critics read it as a relief for offenders, which is damaging the party just ahead of the municipal and Senate elections. Deník N ↗

In Brno-Černovice, two women withdrew from the SPD candidate list, saying they did not know what document they were actually signing. iROZHLAS ↗

China is once again stirring up foreign policy. Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura has already visited, and Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna is preparing to go there too, while President Petr Pavel, according to Aktuálně.cz, has for a month and a half been unsuccessfully asking Foreign Minister Petr Macinka for background information on Okamura's trip. Aktuálně.cz ↗ At the Ministry of Defence, moreover, the director of Minister Zůna's cabinet resigned at his own request around the same time. Novinky ↗

MPs will also decide on a new foreigners act, which mainly digitizes the granting and revocation of foreigners' residence permits in Czechia; according to the Interior Ministry, it is not meant to apply to asylum seekers and is not meant to loosen the rules for obtaining residence. iDNES.cz ↗

What hotinfo is watching

Who ultimately gets the contract for the Šumava remediation, and whether it will be a proper public tender.

Whether the European Commission, after its letter on the RSVP Trust, announces concrete measures against Agrofert, or stops at a verbal warning.

Whether Rakušan manages to win over ANO voters in national polls too, not just in municipal ones.

Whether President Petr Pavel gets an explanation from Minister Macinka about Okamura's trip to China before Defence Minister Zůna also departs on his own trip.

How the Chamber of Deputies vote on the new foreigners act turns out, and what final shape the child certificate rules take after the Kupka–Decroix dispute.