By Melike Pala
BRUSSELS (AA) - Czech President Petr Pavel has authorized ANO party leader Andrej Babis to begin negotiations to form a new government, the Presidential Office announced Monday following their meeting.
During the meeting, Babis briefed the president on the ongoing coalition talks and the draft policy statement, Radio Prague International reported.
According to the Presidential Office, Babis pledged to submit the finalized coalition agreement and policy priorities to the president in writing later this week. Pavel was reported to be particularly focused on the sections dealing with foreign and security policy.
Babis has not yet presented his proposed Cabinet lineup but mentioned several names currently under discussion among the coalition parties, the office said.
Pavel expects Babis to put forward a government team that will uphold democratic principles enshrined in the Czech constitution. The president is prepared to meet individually with each ministerial nominee to discuss their priorities and policy views.
Babis also assured Pavel that "he would publicly address his conflict of interest before his potential appointment as prime minister."
In the last parliamentary election, held on Oct. 3-4, populist billionaire Babis' ANO topped the poll with about 34.7% of the vote, comfortably ahead of the governing center-right Spolu coalition, which secured around 23.2%.