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On June 14, 2017, Sobotka announced his resignation as Leader of ČSSD due to low opinion polling prior to the 2017 legislative election but opted to stay on as prime minister, and he was re-elected MP in his South Moravia and in December 2017 was succeeded by Andrej Babiš. On March 31 March 2018, Sobotka retired from the Chamber of Deputies citing personal reasons.
As the minister of finance, Sobotka formed an advisory body of economists, which later became the National Economic Council of the Czech government. His austerity policy included the dismissal of employees and restrictions on savings accounts and health benefits, a policy he later criticized. When Jiří Paroubek became the new prime minister in 2005, Sobotka reduced his restrictions which led to an increase in the deficit.[3]
Sobotka was elected to the chamber again in 2006 but his party lost the election and went into opposition. Sobotka became Minister of Finance in a shadow cabinet of Social Democrats. His party won legislative election in 2010 but failed to form a governing coalition and remained in opposition.[citation needed]
Sobotka then served as interim leader of ČSSD after the resignation of Jiří Paroubek following the election. He also briefly served as interim chairman in 2006, after the resignation of Stanislav Gross. Sobotka was elected chairman of the party on March 18, 2011, when he defeatedMichal Hašek who became the first deputy chairman.[4] On March 18, 2011, Sobotka was officially elected the party chairman.[2]
Leader of ČSSD
Sobotka led his party in the legislative elections of 2013. The party won the election, gaining 20.45% of votes. The formation of a new government was marked by a conflict between Bohuslav Sobotka and Michal Hašek who, along with his allies from the Party, attended a secret post-election meeting with the Czech President Miloš Zeman. They called on Sobotka to resign due to the party's poor election result. Hašek and his allies also eliminated Sobotka from the team negotiating the next government. The secret meeting was later revealed, and Hašek was accused of publicly lying about it. It led to public protests in the country in support of Sobotka, which in turn led to Hašek's retreat and new government-coalition negotiations led by Sobotka.[citation needed] After leading his party for some seven years, Bohuslav Sobotka resigned on June 14, 2017 as the Leader of the Social Democratic Party after some opinion polls showed his party with a support of 10%, saying that "the party has to undergo deeper changes so that it will be able to better address people and mobilize its supporters and members” ahead of the 2017 legislative election.[5] However, Sobotka decided to compete in the election as the leader of the party in the South Moravian Region. After his resignation, Minister of Interior Milan Chovanec assumed the position of acting leader of the ČSSD, while Minister of Foreign Affairs Lubomír Zaorálek became the party candidate for Prime Minister.
Bohuslav Sobotka's views on the Czech Republic's membership in the European Union as prime minister were relatively positive. Sobotka noted that membership of the Czech Republic in the European Union is a benefit. He has also said that membership provides better security measures and economic stability.[6] However, in early 2016, Sobotka said there would be a national debate on the country's place in the European Union in the case of British withdrawal from it.[7]
In December 2016, Sobotka called for higher corporate taxes, stating: "The way taxation is set up right now it only obliges the big and rich players, who export their profits out of the Czech Republic. Annually, these sums amount to 200 to 300 billion Czech koruna."[9]
On May 2, 2017, Sobotka announced that he would resign because he could not bear responsibility for Finance Minister Andrej Babiš. Sobotka stated that Babiš failed to clear up questions surrounding questionable financial transactions connected to his business activity.[10] Sobotka changed his mind on May 5 May 2017 and instead decided to fire Babiš from his cabinet.[11]
On June 15, 2017, Sobotka resigned as party leader of ČSSD.[12]
On December 5, 2017, Sobotka's cabinet resigned following heavy party losses in the general elections in October. Subsequently, Andrej Babiš was appointed prime minister on December 6, 2017, and his new government assumed office on December 13 December 2017.
Post-premiership
Sobotka returned to his hometown of Vyškov in January 2018 and stated that he plans to restart his political career. Members of local ČSSD stated they do not intend for him to run in the upcoming municipal election.[13]
On March 22, 2018, Sobotka announced that he would resign as a member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP), effective April 1 April 2018.[14]
Personal life
Sobotka was married Olga Sobotková between 2003 and 2018, with whom he has two sons named David and Martin. In his free time, Sobotka reads historical mystery, sci-fi, and contemporary literature. He also spends his time watching theater performances and watching local films at the cinema.[15]
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Bohuslav_Sobotka, and is written by contributors.
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