Deputy environment minister leaves Civic Democrats to head ministry

Rut Bízková, the deputy environment minister, quit the Civic Democrats on Tuesday so that she can take the post of environment minister. On Tuesday the caretaker prime minister, Jan Fischer, said that the party could choose a qualified independent candidate to take the post of environment minister until the formation of the next government. When a Green Party nominee recently stood down as environment minister, the post was taken by the agriculture minister, Jakub Šebesta. That prompted the Greens to withdraw their support for the interim cabinet, and to withdraw their choice Michael Kocáb as human rights minister. Mr Fischer said he himself would handle that portfolio for the rest of the caretaker government’s term. The Civic Democrats have complained that the cabinet is overly influenced by their main rivals, the Social Democrats.

Author: Sarah Borufka