Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has postponed tendering his cabinet's resignation until the second half of May, his office said on Thursday, buying time to push through a plan for a new government before stepping down, APA reports quoting Reuters.
Sobotka announced on Tuesday he and the government would step down, less than six months before its term ends, to resolve a long-running dispute with billionaire Finance Minister Andrej Babis, founder of the popular anti-establishment ANO movement.
The prime minister wants to form a new cabinet without Babis due to questions over Babis' business practices, even if that means stepping aside himself.
A new cabinet could include a replacement for Sobotka from his Social Democrat party, either Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek or Interior Minister Milan Chovanec, Zaoralek told reporters on Thursday.
Sobotka says Babis - the Czech Republic's second-richest businessman - failed to give convincing explanations for some past business deals.
Babis has come under fire over the morality of using of tax-free bonds and legality of the payment of European Union small business subsidies to a company he ultimately acquired. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
"The government crisis can be over in 10 minutes," Sobotka told reporters "All it takes is for Andrej Babis to recognize his responsibility and put the interests of the Czech Republic ahead of his desire to remain finance minister."
But that is exactly what ANO refuses, saying Babis had no reason to quit.
Other parties in Sobotka's governing coalition want to avoid a snap election before national elections scheduled for Oct. 20-21.
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