Presidential Spox Confirms Zeman Meeting w/ODS' Fiala 'At Later Date'

Spox for President Milos Zeman confirms that the head of state will meet with Petr Fiala, head of the centre-right ODS and leader of the SPOLU coalition that won the most votes in last week's legislative election 'at a later date'.

• Zeman remains in hospital, having been moved there following the election result. He is believed to have been ill for some time.
• There has been some confusion in the Czech press as to the intention of the president, who (though nominally independent) vocally supported PM Andrej Babis' ANO party during the election campaign. Unclear if Zeman has given Babis - whose party remains the single largest in parliament - the mandate to seek to form a gov't.
• Babis looks unable to put together a majority coalition due to the dearth of potential coalition allies in the Chamber of Deputies.
• Fiala's SPOLU looks likely to seek to form a coalition with the liberal Pirates and Mayors electoral alliance. The two alliances contain five parties overall, and if a gov't is formed maintaining unity could prove a difficult prospect over the long term.