PRAGUE - A rally called by the Milion Chvilek association took place in Prague's Old Town Square and in the lower part of Wenceslas Square in the afternoon. Participants reportedly filled both locations. The event was called in connection with the dispute between the President of the Republic, Petr Pavel, and the chairman of the Motorists for Ourselves movement, Petr Macinka, over the unconstitutional non-appointment of MP Filip Turek as Environment Minister.
The organisers said the aim of the rally was to express support for the President in the exercise of his constitutional powers to appoint members of the government. According to the Million Chvilek association, it is important that this process be conducted in accordance with the constitutional order and with respect for the responsibilities of individual constitutional officials. There were speeches by representatives of the association and other speakers on the role of the President in the political system and the importance of public scrutiny of power.
President Petr Pavel has so far publicly justified his decision not to appoint Filip Turek to the post of Minister of the Environment primarily on the basis of doubts about the suitability of the candidate for the ministry. According to his statement, part of the role of the head of state is to assess not only the formalities of the proposals, but also the broader context associated with the performance of the ministerial function. Petr Macinka, the chairman of Motorists for Ourselves, has repeatedly criticised the President's approach. According to him, the President exceeded the scope of his powers and did not respect the political responsibility of the proposing party.
Macinka, on the other hand, said he considers the failure to appoint a candidate an unconstitutional interference in political competition and in the legitimate right of the winning political force to fill government positions with its representatives. In addition to Prague, rallies were held in other cities. According to Milion Chvilek, people gathered in Hradec Králové, Pardubice, Zlín, Vrchlabí, Jeseník, Uherské Hradiště and Třeboň. The regional events were smaller in scale, but their topics corresponded to the Prague gathering.
Police said the rally was peaceful and there was no disturbance of public order. The turnout was not officially quantified. The dispute over the non-appointment of the minister has become the subject of a wider political and professional debate. Constitutional lawyers clearly agree on the powers of the President in this regard, but they unanimously point out that such situations can violate and negatively affect the interpretation of the Constitution of the Czech Republic and the relations between the various branches of the executive branch, and that President Petr Pavel should in no way move outside the framework of the Constitution of the Czech Republic.
gnews.cz - GH
