Minister of interior signs controversial police reforms

Minister of the Interior Milan Chovanec said Wednesday that he had signed a controversial reform of the police which includes the merger of key anti-mafia and corruption units. The minister said he did not believe the coalition agreement had been broken by such a move. And he accused the ANO party lead by Andrej Babiš of behaving hysterically over the proposed changes. Chovanec said he had consulted with Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka about the move and said the police could not be paralysed. The smallest party on the coalition, the Christian Democrats said Chovanec would take responsibility for the move and its consequences. ANO has warned that the coalition agreement will be broken if the reforms are pushed through. Babiš said earlier Wednesday though that ANO might remain in the government even if the coalition agreement did not apply.

Author: Chris Johnstone