President says he will not appear again on Moravec show

In an interview for commercial radio station Frekvence 1, President Miloš Zeman has made clear he will, in the future, not appear on Czech TV’s flagship Sunday debate programme hosted by Václav Moravec. The president alleged that Mr Moravec, a seasoned radio and TV journalist, had made a major mistake in last week’s edition. Last Sunday, Mr Moravec interviewed Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka about the government’s civil service legislation. The president has strong reservations towards the draft bill, especially over the inclusion of so-called politically-appointed deputies. Mr Moravec maintained that when Mr Zeman was prime minister from 1998 to 2002 such appointees were the norm as well. The president has denied it.

In the interview for F1’s Pressclub programme, the president said he had given Mr Moravec several "chances" before but that he would no longer appear on the show, saying his predecessor Václav Klaus had taken a similar approach. The team behind the programme at Czech TV, meanwhile, is standing by the show’s content.

Author: Jan Velinger