Czech Republic: the Ensemble coalition has a government agreement

The Czech political coalition Ensemble, signing its government agreement in the Prague Chamber of Deputies, this Monday, November 8, 2021. AP - KAMARYT MICHAL

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In Prague, a coalition agreement was formalized and signed on Monday, November 8, 2021 by five parties so far in the opposition, but which thus put an end to the government of billionaire Andrej Babiš, in power for several years and finally defeated.

His ally, the President of the Republic, is still hospitalized.

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With our correspondent in Prague,

From the Pirate Party to the Conservative ODS Party, including the Christian Democrats, here are five Czech political parties, all classified to the right of the chessboard.

They initialed on Monday a document to serve as their roadmap and validation of the distribution of posts in the next government and the new Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament.

The expected head of this next government is

, leader of the ODS, a party with sometimes Eurosceptic tendencies, but which, according to this agreement, will leave diplomacy and European affairs to formations less hostile towards Brussels, without (he is planned to adopt the single currency, the euro.

Petr Fiala, a political scientist by training, indicated that the Head of State would very soon entrust him with the task of forming a new cabinet. President

, still hospitalized for liver problems, sees without enthusiasm his ally

losing power. But the billionaire, implicated in the Pandora Papers, does not disappear from political life. He is already a favorite to take over from Zeman in the presidential election scheduled for just over a year from now.

The end of an era is perhaps a little too triumphant, let's say it's the logical continuation of events since the elections and this rather special campaign.

It is clear that Mr Zeman's state of health and his absence for several weeks played a great part in favor of the coalition being established, not least because he was unable to play the card that he had already played in the past, namely the appointment of a minority government.

He is there, at the foot of the wall, and obliged to take into consideration the existence of a majority coalition and especially the withdrawal of Andrej Babiš, already in the opposition.

Is this the end of an era in the Czech Republic?

Response from political scientist Michel Perottino, professor at Charles University in Prague

Alexis Rosenzweig

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• Milos Zeman

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