President’s spokesman says he did not overstep his bounds in welcoming Alternative for Germany politician at Prague Castle

Jiří Ovčáček, the spokesman for President Miloš Zeman, has said he did not overstep his bounds by welcoming the Czech-born Petr Bystroň, the head of the Bavarian branch of the anti-migrant party Alternative for Germany, at Prague Castle on Monday. The spokesman explained that President Zeman could not meet with Mr Bystroň for time reasons. Opposition politicians criticised the move as highly unorthodox; TOP 09 leader Miroslav Kalousek, for example, suggested that by meeting with a spokesman the politician was willingly making a fool of himself. Mr Ovčáček told journlaists that Mr Bystroň had expressed support for the Czech president’s opposition to the EU’s migrant quotas.