Czech president tasks Babis with forming new government

PRAGUE, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Czech President Petr Pavel on Monday officially tasked Andrej Babis, leader of the ANO movement, with forming a new government.

Coalition negotiations among ANO, the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, and Motorists for Themselves have been underway for about two weeks and are reportedly nearing completion.

Babis wrote on the social platform X that, following the presidential mandate, the coalition partners are now finalizing the coalition agreement and government program statement. "Once these documents are ready, we will move on to the composition of the cabinet," he said, adding that the goal is to form a new government by mid-December.

The SPD's leader Tomio Okamura also confirmed on X that the talks are progressing smoothly.

After a meeting with Pavel, Babis said the coalition agreement could be signed in the coming days. Enditem