“We have the last year of our term of office. Constitutional changes must be proposed at the beginning of the period, so that there is time to discuss them. The Chamber is completely overloaded at the moment. I don’t think it will be possible,” Aleš Dufek, the head of the People’s Deputies and a member of the Constitutional and Legal Committee, told Novinkám.
The head of the ODS parliamentary club, Marek Benda, is similarly skeptical. “Constitutional protection of water is already in the House of Representatives. It doesn’t even look like it could pass. The opposition doesn’t want to vote for anything anymore,” he remarked to ANO and SPD.
More votes are needed to change the Constitution than to change or amend an ordinary law. While the ordinary norm is approved by a majority of the deputies present, a three-fifths majority of the entire Chamber, or 120 votes, is required for an amendment to the Constitution. After the departure of the Pirates, the coalition government of Petr Fiala (ODS) has 104 votes, with the Pirates 108.
Šalomoun himself explained to Novinká that he wanted to take at least the first step towards changing the Constitution. “If it happens in this election period or in the next one, it doesn’t matter. It is important that it passes the comment procedure. It is a high-quality normative text,” he noted.
According to him, the negotiations were hampered by the chairmen of the coalition parliamentary clubs, where the text of the amendment lay.
However, changes to the Constitution are usually preceded by years of negotiations, formation of special commissions and teams. The opposition is also involved in the negotiations.
Changes from the president to the SAO
Some deputies believe that Solomon tried to “clean his desk” before leaving. The Pirates promised their voters an amendment to the Constitution, in particular the introduction of a voluntary sliding mandate, which would mean that a member of parliament could give up the mandate of a member of parliament in favor of a substitute.
Critics fear that then the ministers would have no reason to go to the meetings of the lower house. “But ministers have to come to the Chamber and face criticism,” noted Dufek.
Even Benda is reserved about it. “I don’t expect that we could come to an agreement during the spring so that the amendment could apply from 2026,” he pointed out.
In addition to deputies, the amendment also concerns the powers of the president. Newly, the approval of the Senate would be required to appoint members of the Banking Council of the Czech National Bank.
According to the amendment, Parliament should get an easier way to file a constitutional lawsuit against the head of state for high treason or gross violation of the Constitution. Half of all deputies (instead of three-fifths) and a three-fifths majority of the senators present would be sufficient for this.
The law also expands the competence of the Supreme Audit Office to control the handling of public funds of state enterprises, funds, contribution organizations, national enterprises, health insurance companies, public media, etc.
I would like a sliding mandate YES
It is too late for the debate on the Constitution, even according to the ANO movement. “For approval, you need a qualified majority in the parliament. This is difficult to achieve, there are conflicting opinions about it, both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. It will be a complicated, complex negotiation,” former Minister of Justice Helena Válková (ANO) told Novinka.
Personally, she would be in favor of introducing a sliding mandate for MPs who join the government. According to her, managing to perform both functions is difficult. “I experienced it when I was a minister for 13 months. I consider it good to leave the decision to the minister,” she noted.
Vladimíra Lesenská, member of the Constitutional and Legal Committee from the SPD, has the same opinion. “The Constitution is not a simple matter. Submitting a change a year before the elections is nonsense,” she noted.
At the same time, she would also support the introduction of the so-called sliding mandate. “But it must be solved in advance, and not at the last minute,” she told Novinkám.
Both STAN and TOP 09 supported the proposal
The Pirates at STAN and TOP 09 gained understanding. “The proposal has our support. But the chance of approval will depend on the (in)ability of the opposition to discuss other topics constructively,” the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, wrote to Novinkám.
The STAN movement also supported the pirates. “I consider all proposals for amending the Constitution, which Michal Šalomoun submitted before his departure, to be substantively correct and desirable, and they have the support of the STAN club,” said Josef Cogan, head of the Starostů deputies’ club.
At the same time, he indicated that there is not much time left for negotiations on the Constitution. “There is always a chance to pass, but I don’t dare to estimate how big,” he added.
The Pirates left the government after Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) dismissed Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) due to problems in digitization. Solomon remained in power until October 11.
