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Junior party on brink of leaving Czech coalition after PM pushes out minister

Fiala said Bartos should leave his ministerial post after mismanaging the introduction of a digital system for issuing building permits

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala proposed the dismissal of Development Minister Ivan Bartos on Tuesday, a surprise move that shook the centre-right coalition and likely means the exit of the smallest party.

Fiala said Bartos, the outgoing head of the Pirate party, should leave his ministerial post after mismanaging the introduction of a digital system for issuing building permits.

Fiala's proposal will head to President Petr Pavel, who will officially need to fire Bartos.

The Pirates have just four seats in the 200-seat lower house of deputies and the ruling coalition would maintain a slim majority without the party, but the dismissal showed cracks in the government which faces a tough challenge from the populist opposition in an election in a year's time.

Bartos, who said he had met Fiala on Tuesday morning but only learned hours later of the intention to dismiss him, called the firing a "dirty trick".

Fiala praised two other ministers from the Pirate party, including Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky who has been the main voice of the government's strong support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Fiala told a televised briefing that he was not breaking up the coalition but said: "I am asking the Pirates to propose a new candidate for the (regional development ministry) post."

Pirate party officials, however, told a news conference that Fiala's move effectively ended the Pirates' involvement in government, although they did not announce the resignations of their two other ministers.

"We were kicked out of the government by (Fiala's ruling party) ODS today and it's out of the question that we would come back to talk to ODS about (a ministerial replacement)," Jakub Michalek, who heads the Pirates' caucus, said.

Bartos has been weakened by an outcry from state administrators, builders and architects about faults in implementing a system of issuing building permits in place since July.

In a regional assemblies election last weekend, his party lost nearly all seats in regional assemblies, prompting Bartos to say he was quitting as party chairman, but he had no intention to leave the cabinet.