Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský will resign if his Pirate Party decides to leave the government coalition.
Jan Lipavský made the remarks to Czech journalists in New York on Tuesday evening in response to the fact that Prime Minister Petr Fiala wants to remove Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development of the Pirate Party Ivan Bartos from the government, because he is dissatisfied with his job.
Peter Fiala's unexpected announcement on Tuesday sparked outrage among party members, and according to the party's website, a vote will be held from Friday to Monday on whether the Pirate Party should leave or stay in government. Voting ends on Monday at 20:00.
“If the pirates decide to leave the government, then as a member of the Pirate Party I will resign as appropriate. On the other hand, I would also like to link this to my withdrawal from the party, because I cannot agree with everything the pirates are saying now,” he added.
“Jan Lipavský is a very good foreign minister and he has my trust,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in Prague on Wednesday. “We will talk about the minister's future personally next week after his return from New York and the Pirate Party vote,” Fiala added.
At the press conference after the government meeting – in response to a question – the Prime Minister actually said: “Ivan Bartos announced at the government meeting on Wednesday that the Pirate Party will leave the government.” He added that the number of representatives of the government coalition in the 200-member Sejm will consequently decrease from 108 to 104.
Jan Lipavsky is in the United States with President Petr Pavel to attend the high-level debate of the UN General Assembly.
Petr Pavel told New York public television that he would like to meet with the prime minister and coalition party leaders after his return to see the situation personally.
Michel Salomon, the Pirate Party's minister responsible for legislation, told reporters he believed the five-party coalition could no longer be maintained in its current form.
