At yesterday evening’s government meeting, the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomáš Petříček was informed of his dismissal from the position. According to media speculation, Petříček is to be replaced by the current Minister of Culture, Lubomír Zaorálek. Photo Credit: Vlada.cz.
Czech Rep., Apr 12 (BD) – At yesterday evening’s government meeting, the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tomáš Petříček (CSSD), was informed of his dismissal from the position. He informed the media without commenting further on the reason for his departure. According to speculation in the Czech media, Petříček is to be replaced by Lubomír Zaorálek (CSSD), currently Minister of Culture. CSSD deputy Jan Birke would replace Zaorálek as the Minister of Culture.
President Miloš Zeman said today that he would not delay Petříček’s dismissal if it was proposed by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO). The replacement of the minister is to take place later this week. According to ČTK, Zeman has been seeking a reshuffle of government ministers for some time. Petříček believes that the Zeman is displeased by the attention drawn to the safety risks of a unit at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant and the refusal to use COVID-19 vaccines from Russia or China.
Zeman said in a statement yesterday that Birke is much more experienced than Michal Šmarda, the mayor of Nové Město na Moravě who Zeman refused to appoint as Minister of Culture in 2019. Šmarda’s appointment was ultimately withdrawn, and Zaorálek became the new Minister of Culture. Zaorálek served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2017 in the government of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.
