Czech government loses majority

The Czech coalition government lost its parliamentary majority on Wednesday after one of the coalition parties -the Christian Democrats - walked out in the wake of a row over the Prime Minister's private finances. Their departure leaves the government of Social Democrats and the Freedom Union with just 80 seats in the 200 seat lower house. Friday's vote of no-confidence, initiated by the opposition Civic Democrats, will thus put the future of the Gross government in the hands of the Communist party.

The Christian Democrats, photo: CTK

Daniela Lazarova has been following the story. Daniela, does this mean that we could see the Communists back in a position of power -with a strong influence on decision making?

Well, this is something that has repeatedly been ruled out by the Social Democrats in the past - just 24 hours ago Prime Minister Gross was saying that he would not accept any conditions regarding ministerial posts or power-sharing, but in spite of his defiance he clearly wants to make a deal with the Communists which would keep his government in office for another year. And although the communists are playing hard to get, they too are eager for political recognition and some degree of influence on Czech politics - albeit from "behind the scenes". Having said that, there is a great deal of opposition to this scenario - from the public, from the opposition Civic Democrats, from the President and even within the coalition government - the Freedom Union is against it and even some Social Democrat ministers have threatened to resign if such a deal is made. So Mr. Gross is on very thin ice here. It is actually ironic that he should now be courting the communists because it was his anti-communist rhetoric that won him re-election as party leader and defeated his left-oriented rivals just a week ago. And some of his own party members are now accusing him of being on a power trip at the expense of the own party.

What is the alternative? What happens if the government falls tomorrow?

Prime Minister Stanislav Gross, photo: CTK

In that case there are two alternatives - the President could initiate talks on the formation of a new government or Parliament could vote on early elections. It seems that the first alternative is more probable because early elections would require a constitutional majority in Parliament and at least three parties are against early elections - or say they are against early elections -the Social Democrats, the Communists and the Freedom Union.

So when will we know the outcome of Friday's vote?

Well, Parliament convenes at 9am CET. There will presumably be some speeches, and then the voting will take place - it will be public, with each deputy getting up and saying whether they are for or against the government.

The opposition would need 101 votes to topple the Gross government. The entire session will be broadcast on national television and with any luck, we could know the result by midday Friday.