Babiš Takes On Czechia's Drought — Not Through His Motorist Minister, But Through His Own Governor

Czechia is in the grip of intense heat, with meteorologists forecasting temperatures around 35°C again this weekend. The heatwave is accompanied by one of the most severe droughts the country has seen in a decade. Prime Minister and ANO leader Andrej Babiš has now seized on the issue.

"Why are we sitting here in the government building today? Because of the drought," Babiš said in a video posted on social media, explaining why he was joined by Richard Brabec (ANO), the former environment minister who had previously dodged questions about climate change, citing his duties as governor of the Ústí nad Labem Region.

Brabec recalled the creation of the National Drought Coalition back in 2018. "It brought together the leading experts working on the drought issue. The ministers of the environment, agriculture and regional development were there, along with representatives of the regions, municipalities and water management companies," he said.

"I've concluded that we need to bring it back," Babiš added. Details on how ministers will take part in tackling the drought are expected to be announced at a press conference on Monday. On Thursday, the prime minister will also visit the Slapy reservoir together with Agriculture Minister Martin Šebestyán (for SPD) and Petr Kubala, director general of the state enterprise Povodí Vltavy.

Where's the Sitting Environment Minister?

Babiš made no mention in the video of the sitting environment minister, Igor Červený (Motorists party). "The prime minister and I have been in touch throughout my week of vacation. The fact that we haven't met in person yet is simply because I'm still abroad," Červený told our newsroom, explaining why the prime minister discussed reviving the coalition with Brabec first rather than with him.

Babiš also praised Brabec in a separate Sunday video summarizing his movement's achievements. "Boiler subsidies for 100,000 households, the New Green Savings programme, and since 2015 we've been systematically preparing Czechia for the consequences of drought — no previous government did anything on this scale," the prime minister said, listing his cabinet's environmental achievements.

He also noted that Brabec headed the ministry for eight years, until 2021, making him the longest-serving head of a single ministry since the Velvet Revolution, having held the post for 2,842 days. "Believe me, we don't underestimate nature and the environment — it matters to all of us," Babiš stressed.

The Motorists and Their Climate Rhetoric

Meanwhile, the ruling Motorists party, which holds the Environment Ministry portfolio, has made statements during recent heatwaves that effectively played down the issue of climate change.

Motorists leader Petr Macinka claimed back in December that "the climate crisis is over." His fellow party member, Minister for Sport, Prevention and Health Boris Šťastný, later capitalised on the winter snowfalls that followed, captioning a photo of snow-clearing efforts: "Long live global cooling!"

"It's hot in summer, cold in winter, dark at night — so I suppose that's a crisis too," Macinka said in July during a session of the Chamber of Deputies, where Pirate Party lawmakers were urging the government to prepare for heatwaves.

"I don't understand why this needs to be called a crisis," Environment Minister Igor Červený said in a June Sunday interview on Czech Television, while insisting he doesn't deny climate change. He later also defended Boris Šťastný's description of July's heat as merely "locally warm weather."

The opposition has long criticized the government's approach to the climate issue. "A wave of devastating heat and record drought. And the environment minister? Silent — because the Motorists have already cancelled the climate crisis, so what's there to panic about?" STAN party leader Vít Rakušan wrote on X, commenting on Babiš's video. He called on the prime minister to hand the Environment Ministry to someone with real expertise in the field.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz