Austrian: The agreement with Fiala is valid, I want a European commissioner for STAN, ideally Neruda

“She is a very suitable candidate for me personally,” the Austrian told Novinkam a Práv on Thursday, adding that the topic is still open, the government has not yet discussed it, and everything will finally be resolved after the European elections.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, if Nerudová, the STAN leader for the European elections, became a European Commissioner and at the same time won enough votes for the European Parliament, she would not be able to do both.

“I don’t think it’s compatible,” admitted the Austrian. However, she is not worried that she would be replaced by a weaker successor to STAN. “If it turns out that way, of course we have quality people on the candidate list,” he pointed out.

Nerudová is the leader of STAN in the European elections

Homemade

In connection with the post of European Commissioner, other names are being mentioned, for example the current Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela, for Starosty. However, the head of the movement does not want to let him into Europe and would like to have him by his side on the domestic political scene.

I want Síkela at home

According to the Austrian, Síkela has earned a good reputation and reputation in Brussels, and he enjoys European politics and has excellent language skills.

“But I’m the chairman. Eurocommissioner is certainly a very important position, but I want strong teammates at home who know how to manage a strong portfolio, perform strongly in the House of Representatives and manage to be leaders even in some difficult regions in parliamentary elections,” said the Austrian.

And Síkela is undoubtedly one of them, according to him. “So my appeal to Jozef Síkela is that I would prefer him to help me in the parliamentary elections in 2025,” the deputy prime minister is clear.

In the past, there was talk of an informal agreement in the government coalition of five that the European Commissioner would be nominated by a coalition of Pirates and Mayors. STAN representatives have the second strongest parliamentary group out of the coalition of five, they sit in four departments and claim that they have the right to nominate. However, the Pirates repeatedly oppose and want the place as well.

But to make matters worse, a few days ago the Aktuálně.cz server reported that ODS wants to have its candidate in reserve, namely Deputy Minister of Finance and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Marko Mora. He has extensive experience in European institutions. Jan Farský, vice-chairman of STAN and candidate for the European Parliament, criticized it on the X network.

Another rift in the coalition? ODS wants to break the agreement on the European Commissioner, claims Farský from STAN

Euro elections

But the leaders of the ODS rejected it. “It’s Mr. Farský’s attempt to draw attention to himself. I don’t know anything about us inventing something like that,” said, for example, the head of ODS deputies, Marek Benda. At the same time, he questioned the promise of nomination for STAN.

The Austrian repeated on Thursday that he had agreed on this with Prime Minister Petr Fiala when forming the current government.

“It was a classic standard political deal, we shook hands on it in government negotiations and it was part of the deal. Yes, I admit that it is not written. But I dare to say that if the chairman, the prime minister was present, the agreement is valid. I have never personally heard any questioning of this agreement from Petr Fiala,” stated the Minister of the Interior. However, he will still discuss this topic with the chairman of the ODS.

He says that it is clear to him that various political games are being played on the subject of the European Commissioner. “Certainly not everyone in the Together coalition likes this agreement that has existed here since the parliamentary elections. I take note of that, but I won’t let it make me nervous,” concluded the Austrian.