The 2018 World Press Freedom ranking, published annually by Reporters Without Borders, mentions the Czech President Milos Zeman pulling out a dummy Kalashnikov bearing the inscription “for journalists" at press conference in October 2017. The Czech Republic dropped by 11 places, compared with the 2017 ranking.

Over three months have passed since Andrej Babiš was appointed as the new prime minister (PM) following the parliamentary elections in autumn 2017, yet the Czech Republic still has no clear coalition or majority government. What is more, while the current government, having resigned, only plays a caretaker role, Mr Babiš continues to make some significant changes in the public sector, despite the clamouring of the opposition parties.