Fair play: Eva Decroix will replace Pavel Blažek. The politician is to touch up his blue coat in the government.
Eva Decroix is not a traditional politician of the ODS. Her political star has been rising for some time. She is, after all, a fairly new vice-chairwoman of the party, where she represents the more liberal wing. Yet the policy of the largest governing party to this point has given the impression that the more conservative members hold sway. The appointment of this politician to the government is an attempt to resolve a serious case that departing Blažek has created during a peak election campaign.
Although Eva Decroix was talked about almost at the moment when the bitcoin case came to light, another candidate was also offered as a substitute for Pavel Blažek. The grey eminence of parliamentary politics and the longest-serving deputy, Marek Benda.
The chairman of the parliamentary club was even among the co-opted deputies in 1990 and several times survived his political half-life decay. After the last elections, journalists also asked him about his possible position in the government. It is hard to find anyone else in the whole ODS who would be more associated with the history of the party with its pros and cons.
For many years, the downsides of ODS included its connection to the business environment, which bore a strong scent of lobbying within the party and also stank of corruption. However, Benda survived the clinical death from which Petr Fiala revived the party, much like Pavel Blažek. The latter, as is known, walked the thin line of political death throughout his last government engagement.
It would seem unnecessary to remind of Blazek's case with the pro-Putin and unacknowledged advisor to President Zeman, Martin Nejedlý, or his interference into the investigation of the shady deals with city apartments in Brno by local ODS politicians.
"The fact that he misjudged the matter and that he admits today that he would judge the whole thing differently today is the reason why he is leaving the government position after consulting with me. Whatever you think of Pavel Blažek, in this matter a politician who admits that he made a mistake, acted exemplary. He drew political responsibility and resigned from office,"
Petr Fiala stated at the press conference on the resignation of Pavel Blažek.
Therefore, one person could be reminded of Blazek's cases. If the Prime Minister wants to speak about exemplary action, Blazek should have taken political responsibility long ago. However, yellow cards were pouring down on him like rain on a new roof. And he was definitely not the only ODS politician with anti-resignation roofing.
Fiala could have long ago replaced the Minister of Defense Černochová for questioning the ODS or the Minister of Finance Stanjura for messing with state budget planning. However, Petr Fiala is right in something when he compares the above statement in the next breath.
"In this context, I must mention Andrej Babis. He is now shouting lies about me and my government, and it doesn't bother him at all that he himself is charged in a case of misuse of subsidies and at the same time being investigated in France for financial crimes," the prime minister did not refrain from attacking the opposition leader, whose skin is, as is well known, completely immune to scandals.
The comparison of Blažek with Babis is not the first time. The former minister nicknamed Don Pablo also called the ANO movement leader Don Andy in his famous poem. The new minister does not come into the government as Signora Eva, and because significant political reforms cannot be completed by the autumn elections, her appointment is primarily an attempt to paint a dark blue coat over the political swagger of Don Pablo in white.
The attractive politician is meant to symbolize a new generation of ODS politicians who are not intertwined with private interests like the aforementioned "Dons". Why else would Decroix appear at SPOLU coalition meetings in a pristine hoodie?
Sources: original text, commentary, idnes.cz, ČTK
