In related news, Bohuslav Sobotka, the head of the opposition Social
Democrats, has told iDnes that even if the country’s caretaker
government
survives its
confidence vote, he will continue to push for early elections. In an
interview for the website, the party leader emphasised it was necessary to
stop President Zeman from further expanding his influence, saying there
hadn’t been a need to defend democratic principles so strongly prior to
the existence of the current cabinet. Following the collapse of the last
government, President Zeman ignored lawmakers – as well as parliamentary
principles, according to some critics – by naming his close associate,
Jiří Rusnok, prime minister. The Social Democrats are divided on the
issue: some within the party maintain the caretaker government is better
than a return by the centre-right.