But Babiš, who spoke in English and French, said he would allow Zeman to fire him on one condition: that Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka accepts that his replacement will be someone from Babiš’s centrist ANO party.
Sobotka, the head of the Social Democrat party, and a majority of Czech parliamentary deputies have demanded that the president sack Babiš because of allegations of financial improprieties, including that he benefited illegally from a 2012 purchase of tax-exempt bonds issued by his conglomerate Agrofert, the source of his wealth. Babiš denies these allegations. [...]
Babiš has also faced allegations of conflict of interest involving his wide business interests and the use of EU funds for his firms during his time as finance minister. In January, the Czech parliament passed a law banning government ministers from owning media firms and more than a quarter of any company bidding for state contracts or receiving EU subsidies. A few weeks later, Babiš placed all his business holdings into a trust. [...]
In three audio recordings posted on the Internet, Babiš can be heard insulting other ministers and apparently discussing the planting of news stories that would be damaging to Interior Minister Milan Chovanec and Minister of Health Miloslav Ludvík, both members of Sobotka’s Social Democratic party. In the latest recording, a journalist from Mlada fronta Dnes is heard offering to publish information from an ongoing police investigation and discussing with Babiš the timing of the proposed leak.
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