Former Czech President Miloš Zeman has called on the leadership of the ANO movement to persuade its chairman, Andrej Babiš, to remain in politics. According to Zeman, there are too few genuine personalities in politics. During a meeting on Wednesday, Zeman criticized Babiš for the mistakes he made during the presidential campaign.
Zeman received Babiš in his new office in Prague’s Dejvice district. “It was a friendly conversation. We talked about the presidential campaign and the prospects of the ANO movement for success in parliamentary elections,” said Zeman.
As part of his “friendly criticism,” the former prime minister pointed out three mistakes from the presidential campaign to Babiš. According to Zeman, Babiš neglected the economic crisis in his campaign, manifesting in a decline in people’s living standards. Secondly, he considers the election billboard with the text “Babiš is not a soldier, but a diplomat” a mistake. Finally, the former president believes that Babiš has labeled the election a referendum on himself.
Despite these criticisms, Zeman acknowledged that Babiš performed well in television debates. Babiš tried to convince Zeman to change his mind about withdrawing from politics during their meeting.
Zeman’s new office was opened last week, and he plans to give interviews to the media or meet with people who request a meeting once a week. He said he would be happy to meet with anyone who asks, but he does not want to invite anyone to his initiative. He added that it depends on representatives of other political parties, not just the ANO movement, whether meetings with them will take place.
Anyone interested in meeting with the former president can contact the Friends of Miloš Zeman Association, which pays for his office. His team will also create an email address shortly where people can request a meeting.