Bartoš: EC vote sidelined democratically nominated candidates

The Czech political scene is divided over the nomination of German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen for European Commission president. While Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš hailed the nomination as a great success for the Visegrad Four group, opposition Pirate Party chairman Ivan Bartoš said the vote had side-lined democratically nominated candidates. He also criticised Mrs von der Leyen for not trying to appeal to voters beyond Germany’s borders. 

Civic Democrat chairman Petr Fiala has welcomed the choice of the German minister over the Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans. He also expressed his hope that under her leadership, the European Union would be less activist and listen more closely to the individual EU member states.