Zeman to meet key players in political crisis later this week

President Miloš Zeman is to hold meetings later this week with key players in the country’s ongoing political crisis. His spokesman said that the head of state would welcome Prime Minister Andrej Babiš of ANO to Prague Castle on Thursday at 5 pm. The following day Mr. Zeman will play host to Social Democrats chairman Jan Hamáček and the party’s minister of culture, Antonín Staněk, at his Lány residence at 3 pm.

The president has refused to accept the resignation of Mr. Staněk, a move that the Social Democrats insist on. They say they may quit the coalition government if Mr. Babiš doesn’t force Mr. Zeman to act. However, the PM shows no signs of doing so.

No progress was made during talks between the president and the heads of the two coalition parties last week. The Czech constitution says the president must remove a minister at the request of the prime minister, though it does not set a deadline for this.