What the Czech media are writing about: Babiš halted the Šumava contract; a Motorists’ candidate holds a stake in the company. Turek admitted he had „úkoloval“ the minister

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš stopped Environment Minister Igor Červený’s attempt to award an almost CZK 200 million contract for cleaning up toxic contamination in Šumava without a tender to Dekonta, in which Klára Sovová, the Motorists’ candidate for Prague mayor, holds a stake. MP Filip Turek meanwhile admitted that he had „tasked“ the minister in the case, angering his own party as well as coalition partners from ANO. Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna’s position is meanwhile becoming shaky — he cancelled his trip to China for budget talks, drew criticism from the opposition over the security risk, and the ministry has already lost its cabinet director. Babiš’s conflict of interest is also quietly dragging on: a Brussels audit threatens the Czech Republic with another six billion crowns, which opposition MEP Danuše Nerudová directly links to Agrofert.

Babiš halted the Šumava contract; a Motorists’ candidate holds a stake in the company

Minister Červený insists that the major clean-up in Šumava will begin on 21 September, although Prime Minister Babiš rejected his attempt to award an almost CZK 200 million contract under an accelerated, no-tender procedure to Dekonta. The government is due to return to the contract on Monday; the ministry has not yet specified how the contractor will ultimately be selected. SeznamZprávy ↗

Suspicion is deepened by the fact that Klára Sovová, the Motorists’ candidate for Prague mayor, holds a stake in Dekonta Holding — the minister, the company and the candidate all deny any connection. Červený himself defends his approach by citing the urgency of the discovery, since a standard selection procedure would, he says, postpone the clean-up until next spring. SeznamZprávy ↗

In an interview with iDNES.cz, MP Filip Turek himself admitted that the barrels of poison in Šumava „vytáhl to on s docentem Wasserbauerem a dali to za úkol ministrovi, aby to řešil, aby se to odstranilo“. iDNES.cz ↗ According to editorial sources, the Motorists’ leadership is angry with him and fears that his statements are harming the party in front of Prime Minister Babiš. „Působíme jako amatéři,“ one of the caucus’s MPs admitted; party chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Petr Macinka plans to address the matter directly with Turek. SeznamZprávy ↗

Červený rejects the account of being „úkoloval“ and says he acted on his own initiative; the discrepancy between the two statements has also been noticed within the coalition itself. Deník N ↗ The dispute also reached back into the past, when the minister accused his predecessors, including former minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL), of knowing about contamination at the Dobrá voda military site near Prášily but doing nothing. Former ministry official David Surý told him he was lying — according to Surý, the clean-up had already been under discussion six years ago and the current leadership should have acted on the 2023 warning itself. Novinky ↗

iROZHLAS summed up the mood surrounding the entire affair in its weekly review with one sentence — that in Šumava „je cosi shnilého“ in more than just the soil. iROZHLAS ↗

Zůna’s position is becoming shaky

Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna will ultimately not fly to China in mid-September for a security conference; he will stay home for final talks on next year’s defence budget, Chamber Speaker and SPD leader Tomio Okamura announced. A ministry official will travel to the conference instead. Ekonomický deník ↗

The official reason is not the only one being discussed in Prague. Josef Flek (STAN), chair of the Chamber’s defence committee, warned that two trips by senior Czech officials to China in quick succession — Okamura had travelled to Beijing shortly before Zůna — could also attract attention among NATO allies, while security committee chair Jana Černochová (ODS) called the minister’s possible participation in the Beijing forum a security risk.

General Hlaváč had previously also cancelled his trip to Kyiv for a security conference; Zůna attributed it to his work duties at home, while critics accuse him of „going round in circles“ in his explanations. Forum24 ↗

The ministry has meanwhile also lost its cabinet director — Karel Kortánek definitively resigned on Friday, 11 September, although colleagues say the minister tried to persuade him to stay until the last moment. He was replaced by his previous deputy, Alexandra Homová. Aktuálně.cz ↗ The Ministry for Regional Development, led by ANO, additionally rejected Zůna’s nominee for an inter-ministerial group overseeing major public contracts, without specifying why — according to Aktuálně.cz, this is another sign that Prime Minister Babiš is dissatisfied with the defence minister’s performance. Aktuálně.cz ↗

Respekt’s podcast placed Zůna alongside Minister Plaga among „Babiš’s men in danger“ because of his uncertain position in the cabinet. Respekt ↗

Babiš’s conflict of interest drags on; Brussels found another six billion

The European Commission has not yet decided on another six-billion-crown problem — an audit of agricultural subsidies found possible overlaps in which several entities receive subsidies for the same plot of land. The Ministry of Agriculture rejects the findings and intends to challenge them by the end of the year. Deník ↗

Opposition MEP Danuše Nerudová (STAN) linked the dispute directly to the prime minister: „Andrej Babiš bude našim lidem dlužit 6 miliard,“ she wrote, recalling that by the same logic the state is already recovering seven billion crowns in subsidies paid to Agrofert between 2017 and 2021, when Babiš was prime minister. Forum24 ↗

Former ANO European commissioner Pavel Telička told Forum24 that pressure to resolve Babiš’s conflict of interest over Agrofert was gradually fading — in his view, neither the coalition nor the opposition is pushing hard enough, with the exception of the Pirates, who submitted an initiative directly to the European Commission. Forum24 ↗ SeznamZprávy also noted that merely restricting Agrofert’s subsidies does not hurt the company all that much; rising gas prices from the Persian Gulf have a more noticeable impact. SeznamZprávy ↗

State finances: more expensive fuel, stricter loans, warning of a budget shock

Fuel prices in the Czech Republic continue to rise — petrol has reached its highest level since summer 2022 and diesel is approaching CZK 48 per litre, making a full tank more than one hundred crowns more expensive than last week. Prime Minister Babiš nevertheless refuses to regulate petrol-station margins: „Marže jsou nyní na maximálně třech korunách, nejsou přehnané... Spotřební daň snižovat nebudeme,“ he said, shifting the blame to refineries whose capacity is, in his view, being damaged by the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Deník ↗

The Chamber, across both coalition and opposition (134 of the 136 members present), approved stricter consumer-credit rules — the annual percentage rate of charge may not exceed four times the Czech National Bank’s repo rate plus eight percentage points; the opposition ODS had pushed for five times the rate but failed. Advertising may not claim that a loan will improve a client’s financial situation, and it will also become more difficult to challenge contracts in court later. SeznamZprávy ↗ At the proposal of Vojtěch Munzar (ODS), and with the agreement of Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO), MPs postponed the amendment’s effective date until 1 February next year. iDNES.cz ↗

The National Budget Council warned that by 2028 the state’s finances would need to be improved by CZK 130–140 billion within a single year; an E15 commentator points out that the finance ministry’s current fiscal and structural plan contains no such specific measures yet. E15 ↗

Under the radar

As the second round of the Senate election on 17 October approaches, the fight for the upper chamber’s presidency is also intensifying. Incumbent Miloš Vystrčil (ODS) wants to continue in office, but the ODS and TOP 09 caucus may lose its position as the largest caucus — some South Bohemian senators have already promised to switch to a new caucus that Governor Martin Kuba plans to establish after the election with Naše Česko, while ODS also fears STAN’s growing strength. Novinky ↗

Widow Dagmar Havlová has definitively ended her cooperation with the Václav Havel Library, which has meanwhile been renamed „1. prezidentská knihovna“ — she has granted another entity free use of her husband’s name, and it will be introduced on 21 September. Ekonomický deník ↗

According to its annual report, the Václav Klaus Institute received the fewest donations last year since its establishment; the reason is said to be „vyhrocená politická atmosféra“. iDNES.cz ↗

What hotinfo is watching

How the government decides on Monday about the Šumava clean-up contract — whether a proper tender will be launched or Červený will find another route to Dekonta.

Whether the Environment Ministry will meet the 21 September deadline for starting the clean-up, even though it has not yet selected a contractor through a tender.

How the Czech Republic will respond to the European Commission’s audit by the end of the year and whether it will ultimately have to return six billion crowns in agricultural subsidies.

Whether the National Budget Council will receive a specific, quantified plan from the government for finding CZK 130–140 billion by 2028.

Who will take the Senate presidency after 17 October — and whether Miloš Vystrčil will retain the post even with a weakened ODS and TOP 09 caucus.