Czech Republic: the head of the nationalist government finally gives up naming a “Trumpist” prosecuted for rape

Czech nationalist Prime Minister Andrej Babis announced this Monday that he would not appoint to the Ministry of the Environment Filip Turek, a “Trumpist” political ally prosecuted for rape, who had published racist messages and displayed neo-Nazi symbols. The announcement of this appointment caused a standoff with President Petr Pavel and major demonstrations in the country.

The government resulting from the legislative elections in October and appointed in December is made up of Andrej Babis’ ANO party and two Eurosceptic allied groups, the far-right SPD party, and the Motorists party, hostile to European policy on the environment.

And the question of the nomination of a former MEP from the Motorists party, Filip Turek, as well as that of support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, have widened the gap with Petr Pavel, a former NATO general who has presided over this country of 10.9 million inhabitants since 2023.

“Pressure from society”

Filip Turek is the subject of an investigation for domestic violence and rape after a complaint filed by his former partner. The media also revealed misogynistic and racist messages from Filip Turek on the networks. Police also investigated suspicions of possession of Nazi objects and Hitler salutes, before closing the case. “When I saw the pressure from society, I decided to withdraw,” Filip Turek said Monday.

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Prague earlier this month to support President Petr Pavel in his standoff with the government of billionaire Andrej Babis.

Petr Pavel and Andrej Babis also clash over sending locally manufactured fighter jets to Ukraine: while the president supports the delivery of four L-159 aircraft, the government, which opposes military aid to kyiv, justifies its refusal by saying that the Czech Republic needs it

“Against environmentalist ideology”

The Motorists party is now proposing another of its members, MP Igor Cerverny, for the post of Minister of the Environment. “I expect that the president will comply (and accept this candidacy, editor’s note), I don’t see how he could not do it,” Andrej Babis told journalists after this announcement.

The Motorists are not “against nature”, said Igor Ceverny, they are “against ecological ideology”.

“Let’s protect nature, and let’s protect our industry,” he added, in this country which is notably the cradle of the car manufacturer Skoda, bought by the German Volkswagen after the fall of the communist regime.