The current chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Marek Ženíšek, will probably become the new minister for science and research. The board of TOP 09 decided on his candidacy.
MP TOP 09 Marek Ženíšek in a picture from 2017. Photo: ČTK
“I really appreciate the fact that the TOP 09 presidency recommended me for the position of minister for science, research and innovation, and I take it as an appreciation of my work so far,” he told Deník N. The party’s executive committee will decide on the final nomination on Thursday.
Economist Pavel Tuleja (both TOP 09) was supposed to take up the post vacated following the resignation of Helena Langšádlová on Monday. On Friday, he gave up his candidacy amid reports that he had published in so-called predatory journals and criticism of the quality of his professional work.
Ženíšek was a member of the KDU-ČSL from 2005 to 2009. He has been in TOP 09 since 2009, when he also became the deputy chairman of the party. He was a regular vice-chairman until 2015, when he was elected first vice-chairman of the party for two years. Between 2017 and 2019, he was vice-chairman once more.
