PRAGUE (Reuters) -Czech election winner the ANO party is focused on drawing up a policy agenda with two small parties and will get round to talks on cabinet posts next month, party leader Andrej Babis said on Tuesday, indicating weeks of talks still ahead.
Babis, a billionaire and former prime minister, and his populist ANO group won the October 3-4 parliamentary election and the party is on course to replace Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s centre-right government.
ANO has been in talks with the right-wing, eurosceptic Motorists and the far-right, anti-EU and anti-NATO SPD parties on forming a coalition government which would have 108 out of 200 seats in parliament’s lower house.
Babis had said last week that he hoped to wrap up negotiations and have a deal before the new lower house meets on November 3.
“We are focusing on discussing the programme, which will take the most time, and the coalition agreement,” he said on Tuesday in a Facebook video post.
CABINET POST TALKS IN A MONTH
“Regarding personnel, we will return to that maybe in a month, a month and a half,” Babis said.
President Petr Pavel, who has the right under law to appoint prime ministers, has urged parties not to rush in forming the next government.
The first lower house session will elect a new house speaker before the formal resignation of the outgoing cabinet – the earliest moment a new prime minister can be appointed.
Babis announced last week the three parties had agreement on which ministries each would have, but they have yet to agree on ministerial nominees.
Babis, a Donald Trump fan and ally of Hungary’s Viktor Orban, has flagged more focus on domestic and European Union affairs and less support for Ukraine than the outgoing centre-right cabinet, including a possible scrapping of a Czech programme shipping artillery ammunition to Kyiv.
ANO, a member of the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, plans to rule out implementing already agreed EU migration and decarbonisation pacts.
The Motorists, also members of the Patriots, oppose the end of combustion engines and other climate policies.
SPD wants a referendum on leaving the EU and NATO but Babis has strictly rejected any such steps.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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