Prague - The election-winning Social Democrats (CSSD), front-runner ANO 2011 and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) have reached an agreement on forming a coalition government. The parties will sign the coalition treaty on January 6, 2014.
The agreement was reached after the Christian Democrats accepted the "final offer" from the other two parties during the weekend. The Christian Democratic Party will get the Agriculture Ministry, the Culture Ministry and will also appoint a minister without portfolio. Initially, the Christian Democrat chairman asked for "three full-fledged ministries".
Major dispute still blocking Czech coalition talks
Social Democrat chairman Sobotka will become prime minister and his colleague Milan Chovanec has been reportedly nominated for interior minister.
Andrej Babis, billionaire leader of ANO 2011, will be finance minister and deputy prime minister in the new government. His party is considered the real winner of the late-October snap election.
Czech billionaire eyes post of deputy PM for economy
The coalition government will control 111 seats in the 200-member lower chamber and the cabinet will have 17 ministers - eight from the Social Democrats, six from ANO 2011 and three from the Christian Democrats.
Zeman Factor
President Milos Zeman has already announced that he will object to some proposed ministers, for example Social Democrat Lubomir Zaoralek for foreign minister or ANO 2011's Martin Stropnicky for defense minister.
Stropnicky served as Czech ambassador to Portugal from 1993 to 1994, Italy from 1994 to 1997, and Vatican from 1999 to 2002. Zeman said earlier this month that Stropnicky lacked expertise to head the Defense Ministry but was relatively OK to serve as foreign minister.
Aktualne.cz reported several weeks ago that the Presidential Office had prepared a legal analysis on how to block the nomination of some ministers.
Social Democrat Jiri Dienstbier, himself a candidate for minister without portfolio, said that if the president refuses to approve the nomination of some ministers, the party will go to the Constitutional Court.
