On Tuesday, 8 October 2024, President of the Republic Petr Pavel appointed Lukáš Vlček as Minister of Industry and Trade and Petr Kulhánek as Minister of Regional Development at Prague Castle on the proposal of the Prime Minister.
Speech by the President of the Republic at the appointment of ministers:
Dear Prime Minister, distinguished newly appointed ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased that, after a short period of government uncertainty, I am able to appoint two new ministers today, thus completing the government and enabling it to continue fully with the tasks it has ahead of it for the remainder of this term. Although on the one hand the situation of the two newly appointed ministers is different, because Minister Vlček is taking up the baton in continuity, when his predecessor, nominated as a European Commissioner for the Czech Republic, continued to carry out his tasks, the situation for Minister Kulhánek is slightly more complicated, because he is taking over the ministry after the dismissal of his predecessor, with a certain staff deficit after the Pirates left the government, and of course also in a situation where one of the main projects on which the ministry was working is at a stage of what we could call partial destruction and building on what remains.
On the other hand, however, I also see similarities in the fact that you both have tasks ahead of you that are extremely important for this country and for its citizens, whether it is the completion of the tender for the completion of the nuclear units of the Dukovany power plant or whether it is the aforementioned digitisation of the construction procedure, but above all the restoration of the area damaged by the recent floods. These are things that will certainly be at the forefront of your attention. Time is short, and the last year has not offered many opportunities to implement big visions. On the other hand, the tasks you have are clearly defined. I have had the opportunity to see that you have concrete ideas on how to tackle these tasks. And I would like to wish you not only a lot of strength and determination, but also your government colleagues good will in working together, because coordination with them will be absolutely crucial for success in these major projects.
At the same time, I would also like to ask the representatives of the parliamentary opposition, in the interests of fulfilling the things that are important to all citizens, regardless of political preferences, to take a constructive approach to the measures that you will be forced to take in order to fulfill these major projects. So once again, I congratulate you on your appointment, I wish you much strength, much determination and also success in the tasks ahead of you. Thank you.
Petr Pavel, President of the Republic, Prague Castle, 8 October 2024
castle.cz/ gnews RoZ
PHOTO - Zuzana Bönisch
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