Zeman demands to dismiss opponents of simplified legalization of Sputnik V from the Cabinet of Ministers
A scandal erupted in the Czech Republic after President Milos Zeman demanded that Prime Minister Andrej Babis dismiss a number of ministers opposing the simplified legalization of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.
This is reported by Novinky.CZ edition.
According to the head of state, Minister of Health Jan Blatny, Foreign Minister Tomasz Petricek, and head of the State Institute for Drug Control Irena Storova are the biggest obstacles to the import of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine into the Czech Republic.
The president claims that Blatny and Storova are “guilty of people continuing to die” due to their refusal to authorize vaccinations in the Czech Republic with Sputnik V, which, unlike other vaccines in use, has not been approved by the European Medical Agency (EMA) The European Union.
In response, opposition MPs called Zeman’s actions unacceptable and dangerous. According to them, this is lobbying for the Russian vaccine.
The head of the Czech Pirate Party, Ivan Bartosz, recalled that the president does not have the authority to dismiss ministers: “This role does not belong to him, and the voters did not give it to him. The problems with vaccines should be solved by experts, not politicians.
According to the head of the movement of independent mayors STAN Vita Rakusan, Zeman’s statements are dangerous: “It is obvious that the president is lobbying for the Russian vaccine to such an extent that it even threatens the constitutionality of the Czech Republic.”
“The nineties are over,” the chairman of the People’s Party, Marian Yurechka, told Zeman. “It is unacceptable for the president to demand the dismissal of Blatna, who does not meet the interests of Russia and China and rejects the non-standard procedure in the event of a vaccine exclusion.”
And former minister and ex-deputy Miroslav Kalousek urged the Czechs to think better at the next presidential election: “This is not treason, do not worry and do not take it seriously. This is just a statement by a sick old man in a late stage of dementia.”
Prime Minister Babis rejected President Zeman’s call for the dismissal of ministers, noting that personnel changes in the government were not being discussed. He said that now the government has other tasks besides personnel division in the cabinet of ministers.
“We are focusing on vaccination, there are no personnel changes in the government,” the prime minister said.
Recall that it was Zeman who asked Putin to provide the Czech Republic with the Russian vaccine.
We also recall that the decision to purchase Sputnik V turned into a serious political crisis for Slovakia, due to which the government of a neighboring country could collapse.
