Final Word from Tuesday, April 4, 2023

All of the Constitutional Court justices being replaced by Pres. Petr Pavel were appointed by Miloš Zeman, but they were hand-picked by Chief Justice Pavel Rychetský before he and Zeman had a falling-out. Jan Kysela's statement last week that his list of possible candidates includes no current justices is a partial defeat for Rychetský, although Rychetský will clearly agree with many of the individual candidates. Senate Pres. Miloš Vystrčil of ODS even went so far in Feb. as to say that Rychetský's influence on the selection of new judges should be limited. The media have mostly accepted this. Last night, Czech TV presented the departure this year of half of Rychetský's Court as a done deal. This contrasts sharply with the way the media treated the departure of Jiří Rusnok as CNB governor. The failure of Zeman to reappoint Rusnok's hand-picked CNB board members was widely criticized. Rusnok and his people even attacked the appointment of Aleš Michl as governor by intervening in favor of the crown. Interest-rate profits were the issue then. How the new Constitutional Court will set itself apart is still unclear. [ Czech Republic Czech National Bank governor Televison ]