"We protest against the government of our country headed by a person suspected of fraud, and also accused of cooperation with security agencies during the period of socialism. We want the president to appoint another politician from the ANO movement as prime minister, otherwise the Cabinet will be formed endlessly. The ministers must work rather than think whether they would retain their posts in a week or three months," One of the rally's organizers Mikulas Mynarz told reporters.
The activists in more than 20 cities of the country have collected numerous petitions against Babis' role in the government. The petitions will be then reportedly transferred to Prague Castle, Sputnik reported.
Andrej Babis, a 63-year-old businessman and politician of Slovak origin, used to work in foreign trade organizations in Czechoslovakia, and then began to develop his own business empire starting from 1990. His agriculture-chemical holding Agrofert is the industry's largest company in Eastern Europe. In September 2017, Forbes magazine estimated Babis' fortune at $4.1 billion.
The Czech Republic has been reportedly struggling for months to overcome a government crisis. In May, Babis was dismissed from the position of finance minister under then Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka's government over suspicions of tax evasion and fraud. Sobotka’s cabinet eventually resigned in late November.
Thousands protest across Czech Republic against PM Andrej Babis. Reasons: fraud charges, listed as a former agent of the communist-era secret police StB, controversial steps of his minority government (rejected in a no-confidence vote in January).
In October, Babis-led ANO movement came first in the Czech parliamentary election, receiving 29.64 percent of votes. In December, Zeman appointed Babis as prime minister. However, Babis failed to form the majority government, which resulted in the vote of no confidence in his cabinet in January. Babis subsequently announced the resignation of his cabinet. Babis is currently the acting prime minister and is struggling to negotiate formation of a coalition government.