Social Democrats party chairman Jan Hamáček told journalists on Monday
that his party could withdraw from the coalition government if its senior
partner ANO votes to elect far-right journalist Michal Semin to the council
of state news agency ČTK.
Semin, who has blamed American elites for the 9/11 terror attacks, heads
the ultra-conservative movement Akce DOST. Last week, the Federation of
Jewish Communities protested against his candidacy, citing his alleged
anti-Semitic statements
His candidacy for the ČTK council was proposed by the far-right opposition
Freedom and Direct Democracy party. It was also backed by ANO deputies in a
first-round vote earlier in June.
Hamáček said that Semin was an “unacceptable” candidate. If ANO voted
to support him in the second round on 20 June, there would be no point for
the Social Democrats to continue in the coalition government, he said.
Later on Monday, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who founded ANO, said his
party had not supported Semin’s candidacy and would not back him in
future. He said he did not understand why Hamáček said otherwise, calling
it “a nonsense”.