Final Word from Thursday, October 3, 2024
The coalition agreement of the ČSSD-led government in 2013-2017 contained nearly the same paragraph as the current coalition agreement about removing a cabinet member. PM Bohuslav Sobotka of ČSSD decided in May 2017 to violate the agreement by asking Pres. Miloš Zeman to remove Andrej Babiš of ANO as finance minister because of his income from tax-free bonds. Zeman refused to act and said that the coalition agreement must first be abrogated. Threats of action against Zeman ensued. Unlike the Pirates in Sept. 2024, ANO chose to remain in the coalition and to propose a replacement for Babiš. After Sobotka rejected both Alena Schillerová and Richard Brabec, Julie Hrstková of HN said that Sobotka risked giving the impression that he was actually interested in taking over the finance ministry and running ANO out of the coalition. Sobotka subsequently accepted ANO's third nominee, MP Ivan Pilný, and the coalition survived until the elections. It was a real political crisis, but in the end Sobotka and Babiš, spurred on by Zeman, decided to accept a workaround to the problematic paragraph in the coalition agreement. [ Czech Republic KDU-ČSL SocDem ]
Glossary of difficult words
to sack - to dismiss from a position of employment or office;
to abrogate - to repeal or do away with (a law, right or formal agreement);
to ensue - to happen or occur afterwards or as a result;
to spur someone on - to encourage someone to do something or to encourage someone to try harder to achieve something;
workaround - a method for overcoming a problem or limitation in a program or system.