Caretaker Prime Minister Jan Fischer’s government line-up gets cool response

Six weeks after the fall of the centre-right coalition, Czechs have been told the line-up of their new caretaker government. The last minute haggling over its composition has fuelled scepticism about its short-lived mission but it nonetheless faces some tough tasks.

Jan Fischer, photo: CTK

Incoming Prime Minister Jan Fischer on Tuesday read out the list of his 16 ministers who should pilot the Czech Republic until early elections in October. The new government should begin work on Friday after being sworn in by President Václav Klaus.

Snapshots of the new line-up staring out of some of Wednesday’s papers include a few experienced old hands, such as long time budget minister Eduard Janota - promoted to the top job at the finance minister - or experienced diplomat Jan Kohout – the new foreign minister – as well as quite a few relatively unknowns. Only one minister from the outgoing centre-right coalition, Michael Kocáb at human rights, has made the transition from the old to new government.

Media coverage of the new government appears to have been influenced by the last minute haggling between the two main parties and Greens over who should go where and Mr Fischer’s own comments when presenting his line up. The incoming prime minister admitted that posts had been filled as a result of compromises and that compromise was not a dirty word. He spelled out as well that this was not a government of experts that could govern without worrying about a parliamentary majority and that he would be in frequent contact with party leaders.

Eduard Janota, photo: CTK

Wednesday’s edition of the Lidové noviny newspaper described the new government as “submissive.” It also quoted criticism from the Christian Democrats about how the two main parties, the Civic Democrats and Social Democrats, will be able to agree on what line the government should take once they enter the closing stages of what promises to be a fairly brutal parliamentary electoral campaign.

The business daily, Hospodářské noviny, pointed out to the high number of ex-communists in the government, four including Mr Fischer himself, and the heavy behind the scenes lobbying of major business interests over the Cabinet’s composition.

In spite of the new government’s complicated birth, doubts and misgivings about its parentage – it still faces some tough tasks. One of the biggest will be framing a new budget for 2010 against the background of soaring government spending and lower income due to the economic crisis.

Budget framing old timer, Mr Janota, says he wants to impose a 10 percent across the board cut in all ministerial budgets. To those who doubt whether the caretaker government could push that sort of tough measure though – it is pointed out that the politicians may prefer a temporary government to take such an unpopular step before they get back into power.