Daily news summary

Babiš says he will try and form minority government

Andrej Babiš, the head of the ANO party which dominated in the general elections last weekend, has told news website iDnes he will try and form a minority government made up of ANO nominees together with politically-unaffiliated experts. He made the comment after failing to convince other parties in the lower house this week to come on board, namely the Civic Democrats, with whom ANO would have enough mandates to form a majority.

As he was turned away, Mr Babiš said he would try and form a government which would put forward a program which would at least in part take into consideration priorities of parties not in the cabinet. He did not say from whom he could get support in a confidence vote.

Bělobrádek to remain at helm of Christian Democratic party

The broader leadership of the Christian Democratic party backed current leader Pavel Bělobrádek to stay on, on Friday, even after a weaker finish in last week’s elections than members had expected. The Christian Democrats secured just 5.8 percent of the vote, adding up to 10 mandates, meaning a loss of four seats in the lower house.

Mr Bělobrádek said he would offer up his post at the party’s convention, which began at noon, for failing to lead his party to a better result.

Placido Domingo to conduct Don Giovanni at Estates Theatre

World famous singer Placido Domingo takes to Prague’s Estates Theatre to conduct Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni. It’s the same theatre where Mozart himself conducted the premier of his work in 1787 with Domingo’s rendition coming on the 230th anniversary of the original. A second performance conducted by Domingo will take place on Sunday in the square outside the National Theatre and will be televised by public broadcaster Czech Television. Domingo came up with the idea of the two performances during a private visit to the Czech capital.

Singer Kubišová to perform at sold-out Lucerna in Prague

Singer Marta Kubišová will perform at Prague’s Lucerna on Friday, one of the stops on her Goodbye tour. The singer who was persecuted by the communist authorities and banned from singing and became a symbol of the Velvet Revolution with her song Prayer for Marta, is performing live for the last time in the series of concerts.

Her last stop in České Budějovice on November 1, will coincide with the singer’s 75 birthday.

Betting agencies rank Zeman as favourite to win presidential election

Betting agencies have revised odds in the presidential election in January, once again favouring the incumbent, Miloš Zeman. During the summer, candidate Jiří Drahoš, the former head the Czech Academy of Sciences was favoured. The pendulum has swung back to Zeman, news site ČTK indicated.

At the moment, Mr Zeman’s odds of winning are 1,40:1 while the odds for Mr Drahoš are 3:1. The next candidate closest presidential hopeful is Michal Horáček, with odds of around 8:1.

Václav Černý out for Ajax after knee injury

In football, the season appears to be over for Czech Ajax Amsterdam player Václav Černý. A medical inspection confirmed that he suffered a serious knee injury during a cup game on Wednesday and will now face an operation and several months’ recovery. The 20 year old midfielder and member of the Under 21 national squad is rated as one of the best Czech talents to have emerged in recent years.

Weather

Mostly cloudy conditions, with a chance of rain, are expected on Saturday are expected. Daytime highs should reach around 9 degrees Celsius.