Babiš turns defense lobbyist

Does one thing lead to another? On Mon. of last week, the cabinet chose Miroslav Hlaváč as the next army chief of staff against the will of Defense Min. Jaromír Zůna (SPD). On Wed., PM Andrej Babiš met with Zůna and then criticized Zůna's plans for developing the army. On Thur., SPD Chair Tomio Okamura said that one reason his party disagreed with the selection of Hlaváč was that his security clearance had been revoked in the past for suspicion of leaking defense-contract details. The next day, Babiš visited state-owned Explosia explosives maker and spoke about perhaps selling it to the French. Yesterday, MPs Jan Hrnčíř and Radim Fiala of SPD criticized the idea. So did Pirates Chair Zdeněk Hřib, who saw a possible link to Babiš's criminal case in France. Or does perhaps Babiš want to help Karel Pražák, who bought the Synthesia facility (in which Explosia is located) from him two years ago? No matter what, Babiš is really asking for trouble this time and should probably leave defense lobbying to others.