Czech environmental inspectorate chief criticized over family

On Wednesday, the new head of the Czech Environmental Inspectorate (ČIŽP), Pavel Straka, introduced himself to the relevant parliamentary committee for the first time — and the closed-door session, which ran late into the night, turned into a heated row. When the opposition asked about the criminal record of Straka's relatives, Environment Minister Igor Červený (of the Motoristé movement) sharply cut off the debate and, according to several MPs, started shouting at them.

The minister's outburst and a convicted brother

KDU-ČSL MP Petr Hladík, Červený's predecessor as environment minister, explains that he wanted an explanation, since according to Straka's former family lawyer, the director's brother had been convicted of drug distribution, and Straka himself had lived with the family in the same household. “He started shouting at me that he protects his people and won't allow this. That I was supposedly dragging Straka's family into it,” Hladík recounts. Straka himself largely avoided commenting, telling reporters only before the session: “I reject the accusations.” Green Party co-chair Gabriela Svárovská, elected on the Pirates' ticket, confirms this: the minister dismissed the questions as “speculation” and refused to look into them, suggesting that the media shouldn't be taken seriously.

A side job at a private firm and doubts about his qualifications

Červený appointed Straka to head ČIŽP (560 employees) in mid-June on the recommendation of a selection committee — a previously unknown lawyer who had run for Motoristé in the South Moravian Region in the last Chamber of Deputies election, and who had given the party two donations of 100,000 crowns each as well as renting it advertising space. The opposition is also angered that Straka simultaneously remains executive director of the private company BTM Global — he claims the job takes up only a few hours a month, usually on weekends, and doesn't interfere with his duties as head of the inspectorate. ODS and KDU-ČSL MPs also questioned his qualifications: Straka said he had worked as a lawyer in Bratislava, at the international law firm CMS, and at his father's company, but couldn't clearly explain what exactly he did there. Separately, Straka and the minister were asked why ČIŽP hadn't taken part in cleaning up hazardous substances found in Šumava National Park — a task the army was handling, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced in mid-September. Straka replied that coordinating the situation falls under the ministry's remit, and that the inspectorate is ready to provide the ministry with the necessary expert support.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz