A fiery session in the Czech Chamber of Deputies on Friday escalated dramatically after opposition leader Andrej Babiš sharply questioned Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s mental health, branding his promises of achieving German-level salaries within five years as “nonsensical.”
Babiš’s comments provoked outrage among government officials, leading to a walkout by several ministers, including Labor Minister Marian Jurečka and Transport Minister Martin Kupka, who declared the insults intolerable.
“We cannot sit in the hall at a time when, instead of political discussion, there is only a stream of insults,” Kupka said. Jurečka called Babiš’s remarks unprecedented, stating, “The House of Commons has become a circus with no elementary decency.”
The session resumed after a tense break, with government ministers warning that their participation would hinge on an end to the inflammatory rhetoric. Despite this, Babiš continued his critique, accusing the government of failing to address key issues such as inflation, housing costs, and stalled infrastructure projects.
Babiš dismissed Fiala’s claim about matching German wages as unrealistic, arguing that achieving such a goal would require unsustainable annual wage increases of 25 percent.
“The prime minister should relax and stop spouting nonsense,” he said, before ironically suggesting that the lower house investigate Fiala’s “mental state” and advising the Czech prime minister to take some rest.
The opposition leader’s speech, punctuated by banging from coalition MPs and calls for decorum, was further disrupted when Deputy Speaker Aleš Juchelka urged Babiš to refrain from making psychiatric assessments.
Meanwhile, coalition members accused Babiš of using obstructionist tactics to delay critical legislation, including proposals to extend refugee protections for Ukrainians, as well as energy policy reforms.
Jurečka stressed that the government would return to the chamber only if Babiš moderated his tone. “We are ready to act, but only when the endless stream of insults ends,” he said.
Despite this, Babiš persisted, accusing the government of hypocrisy, mishandling constitutional salary issues, and neglecting the public’s economic concerns.
Czech election season is looming with parliamentary elections due to take place by October next year. Fiala has kicked off his electoral pledges by promising to increase Czech salaries to match their German neighbors, but explained he needs another four years in office in order to achieve it.
Hitting back at critics skeptical of his plans, Fiala told Czech lawmakers, “Ladies and gentlemen, dear citizens, I’m not crazy, those who don’t believe in the Czech Republic are crazy.
“Let’s take the right steps, invest, change education, make the state more efficient, attract foreign investments with high added value, manage the transport infrastructure, let’s do what we know we can. It’s not rocket science,” he added.
