EXPLAINED: Why PM's sacking of Pirates leader has Czech politics in turmoil

The current Czech government coalition is in turmoil after Prime Minister Petr Fiala unexpectedly announced his plans Tuesday to sack Ivan Bartoš, head of the government coalition Pirates party and deputy prime minister for digitalization. He is also the minister of regional development.

There are now talks that the current, five-party incumbent coalition may change drastically ahead of the general election in 2025.

Since September 2021, a five-party coalition has ruled Czechia. This consists of the Spolu (Together) alliance – comprising the Civic Democrats (ODS), Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL), and TOP 09 – the Mayors and Independents (STAN), and the Pirates party. 

Fiala leads the ODS, which is the coalition’s largest party by seat numbers. The Pirates have the fewest seats. 

Following the government coalition parties’ extremely poor showing in Czech regional and Senate elections last weekend, Fiala decided to sack Pirates head Bartoš. He announced he would submit a notice of dismissal to Czech President Petr Pavel at the end of this month.

The Pirates party performed the worst in the regional elections, losing around 90 representatives nationwide. 

The prime minister told the press that Bartoš was unable to successfully implement digitalization processes in construction procedures. 

Fiala said he respects Bartoš personally and on a human level, and has always been able to rely on him. "I am not making this decision lightly, but digitization is a key project for the modernization of the Czech state, and we cannot afford any further delays.”

Surprise and anger are two emotions that dominate the coalition minority party at the moment. In a press conference Tuesday, Bartoš described his dismissal as a “set-up.” 

He explained that no word had been said at their talks Tuesday morning about a possible dismissal. Fiala informed him of his decision half an hour before the prime minister’s appearance among journalists.

The party has described the dismissal as “a dirty trick " and said the coalition agreement was violated because Fiala did not consult the Pirates about the plan to sack its leader. The party feels that it is being “thrown out” of government.

Bartoš has also accused Spolu of aiming to form a coalition with the right-wing, populist ANO party, which is the government’s main and fierce opposition.

The Pirates have said they are evaluating whether to remain in the government coalition. 

The Pirates' national forum will vote on withdrawing from the coalition agreement from Sept. 27 until Sept. 30. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský has said he will resign and “probably” leave the Pirates party if it decides to leave the coalition.

However, Fiala has said he wants the Pirates to remain in government.