<figure id="attachment_3284458" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3284458" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3284458" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/6bd77fe5-andrej-babis-16022026.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3284458" class="wp-caption-text">Prime Minister Andrej Babis&#8217; cabinet took office in December, following October&#8217;s general election. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
PRAGUE: Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Monday he was proposing a new candidate for environment minister in a bid to ease tensions between his cabinet and the president over the previous candidate, who has been accused of rape.
Babis&#8217;s cabinet took office in December, following October&#8217;s general election in the EU and Nato member of 10.9 million people.
It comprises his catch-all ANO party and two eurosceptic parties – the far-right SPD and the right-wing Motorists.
The cabinet soon became embroiled in a rift with President Petr Pavel, who refused to appoint the Motorists&#8217; candidate Filip Turek as the environment minister.
Turek is under investigation for domestic violence and rape following a complaint filed by his former girlfriend.
The Motorists, who reject the EU&#8217;s Green Deal and promote combustion engines, have now proposed their lawmaker Igor Cerveny as the minister.
&#8220;I definitely expect Mr President to oblige. There is no reason why he should not,&#8221; Babis told reporters on Monday.
Cerveny said the Motorists were not &#8220;against nature&#8221; but opposed what he claimed was &#8220;the spiritless green ideology&#8221;.
&#8220;Let us free ourselves from the green ideology. Let&#8217;s protect nature and let&#8217;s protect our industry,&#8221; he said.
Turek himself said the Motorists had made a &#8220;concession&#8221; by proposing Cerveny.
&#8220;When I saw the pressure in society, I decided to retreat,&#8221; added Turek.
Czech media have said Turek has authored racist and misogynistic posts on social networks.
Pavel, a former Nato general, said Turek&#8217;s actions &#8220;raise doubts about his loyalty to the values set out in the Czech constitution&#8221;.
Some 90,000 people rallied in support of Pavel and against Babis&#8217;s government in Prague earlier this month.
The rally was called after Pavel had published short messages in which Motorists chairman Petr Macinka threatened retaliation if the president continued refusing to name Turek.
Macinka has so far served as both foreign and environment minister, cutting both staff and funding at the environment ministry.
Green groups have criticised Babis&#8217;s decision to entrust the country&#8217;s environmental policies to the Motorists.
&#8220;The blanket cuts in funding and staff show that the Motorists don&#8217;t understand the ministry and environment protection at all,&#8221; said Jiri Kozelouh, programme director at Friends of the Earth Czech Republic.

MatchPoint Times

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