By Robert Muller
PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech government is drafting a law that would limit the president's powers, among them the sole power to appoint members of the board of the central bank, according to an proposal seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The proposal, posted on the government website, would give the upper house of parliament the right to vet board nominees chosen by the president. The president now appoints the seven board members himself. Other changes include tighter rules for appointing a new cabinet.
If passed, the proposal could affect policy early as next year, when a new central bank governor is to be appointed.
"The main goal is to clarify authorities of the president and other state officials in order to maintain the parliamentary character of democracy in the Czech Republic based on the open competition of political parties," a report accompanying the draft said.
The centre-left government, led by Bohuslav Sobotka, says the rules should change, now that presidents are elected directly rather than by parliament, a change the Czech Republic made in 2013. The current president, Milos Zeman, was the first to be elected in a popular vote.
Sobotka and his government have long been at odds with Zeman. Not surprisingly, the presidential office opposes the proposed change.
"Such constitutional change would lead to political interference in the bank's activities. It completely lacks sense for the directly elected president to have weaker powers than a president elected by deputies and senators," Zeman's spokesman Jiri Ovcacek said.
It is not clear whether the government can find the three-fifths majority in both houses of parliament necessary to pass the proposal. The draft will first be debated by the cabinet, which has not yet set a date for that.
Next year, Zeman is to appoint replacements for Governor Miroslav Singer and board member Kamil Janacek. Singer must leave after serving two terms, and Janacek is not expected to be re-appointed. The leading candidate for governor is Jiri Rusnok, an economist appointed as board member by Zeman last year.
Zeman has repeatedly criticised a central bank policy, in place since 2013, of keeping the crown weak to avoid deflation.
His remarks helped to push the crown up in the past weeks.
The central bank declined to comment. "It is a political decision. Political decisions are not for the CNB to comment on," spokesman Tomas Zimmermann said.