“I would like to appreciate the relatively correct course of the election campaign,” he said. He also praised the former Babiš government. “It has done a lot of good,”. He wished the deputies and members of the government many successes. “We have to respect the majority opinion of the population. Those who are not satisfied with the result of the election and at the same time did not vote, can only blame themselves,” he added.

The cabinet has to deal with covid, energy and budget

Zeman justified his opposition to Lipavsky (read more here) by his low qualifications or his views on relations with Israel and the Visegrad Four. However, in agreement with PM Fiala, he later appointed him. “I was told that it is important that (members of the government) are primarily politicians,” Zeman said in today’s Christmas message.

According to Zeman, the cabinet must deal primarily with the pandemic, energy and the state budget. That would help lift all tax exemptions and bring 380 billion crowns. “We would have a balanced budget and we would not owe future generations,” he added.

Green Deal is a threat

“In addition to the pandemic, the global security situation has deteriorated since the capitulation of the North Atlantic Alliance in Afghanistan. Moreover, the Green Deal is a threat. The agreement is the result of ecology becoming a religion that threatens to undermine the economy and lower living standards.”

“The Green Deal forces us to stop heating with natural gas in 2030 and not to drive cars with internal combustion engines in 2035,” the president criticized.

However, according to the European Commission’s proposal, heating of buildings with gas and other fossil fuels is to end by 2040.

Zeman then linked the Green Deal to rising electricity and natural gas prices, which the president said were likely to rise further. “If we are to at least mitigate this increase, we must break with the so-called Green Deal for Europe, which I believe is the main cause of the rise in energy prices,” he said.