President Zeman will appoint Lubomír Zaorálek as the Minister of Culture today

Prague - After more than a quarter of a year, the crisis around the appointment of the Minister of Culture should come to an end today. President Miloš Zeman will appoint former Minister of Foreign Affairs Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) to the vacated position this afternoon at Prague Castle. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) will then introduce the new minister to the office at the Nostitz Palace.

The dispute over the Minister of Culture began in May when the then head of the office Antonín Staněk (ČSSD) submitted his resignation. However, Zeman refused to accept it and delayed his dismissal even after Babiš sent him a request for a change in the government. Ultimately, Staněk was dismissed at the end of July, but Zeman refused to appoint the nominee of the Social Democrats, Michal Šmarda. After the Prime Minister also opposed the ČSSD proposal, Šmarda withdrew his candidacy. The Social Democrats subsequently designated Zaorálek as their representative in culture.

Zeman met with the former Minister of Foreign Affairs on Monday. Zaorálek expects that in dealing with certain issues at the Ministry of Culture, they may come into conflict with the head of state. For example, he wants to focus on the appointments of certain cultural institutions, the management of which his predecessor Staněk changed at the end of his term. He will consider, for instance, a new selection procedure