Czech billionaire PM submits resignation — Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babis gives a press conference following a meeting of prime ministers of central Europe’s informal body of cooperation, called the Visegrad Group (V4) in Budapest, Hungary, on November 4, 2021. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP)

Outgoing Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Thursday said he had formally submitted his resignation to the president following defeat in last month’s elections.
Czech President Milos Zeman this week had already named Petr Fiala, the leader of the centre-right Together alliance, to form a new government.

“This morning our government has submitted its resignation,” Babis said on Twitter.

The resignation is valid once it has been accepted by Zeman, who has remained in hospital with liver problems since October 10 — the day after the vote.

Babis, a populist billionaire, will remain in a caretaker role until a new government is sworn in.

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Czech Republic President Milos Zeman addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The Together alliance also this week sealed a coalition deal with a centrist two-party alliance.

This larger grouping holds 108 seats in the newly-elected 200-seat lower house of parliament.

The Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member with 10.7 million inhabitants is grappling with a surge in Covid-19 infections and a sharp rise in energy prices.

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