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Prime Minister Andrej Babiš minority government has survived a third confidence vote called by two coalitions of opposition parties (the Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and TOP 09, Pirates, and Independents and Mayors). As expected, Communist deputies left the chamber during the vote, securing Babiš’s victory.

Among other things, the opposition party leaders claim that the ANO and Social Democrat minority government has failed to effectively fight the new coronavirus pandemic and secure strong international solidarity amid the diplomatic row with Russia. They also point to Babiš’s alleged conflict of interest and his prosecution in the Stork’s Nest case involving EU subsidy fraud.

The vote took place on Thursday evening, after some 12 hours of debate. To be approved, the no-confidence motion needed at least 101 votes out of the 200 seats in the lower house of Parliament but received only 89.  Of the MPs present, 82 voted against it.

Civic Democrat chairman Petr Fiala, speaking on behalf of the initiators of the confidence vote, said that there were many reasons for expressing distrust in Babiš’s government and that more were being added every day. Communist Party chairman Vojtěch Filip said they staged the walkout to show that although the government does not have their trust, neither do they back the agenda of the opposition.

For his part, Babiš said in his introductory speech that the opposition is trying to oust him from office and politics at all costs. He also listed accomplishments of the cabinet, including increasing pensions, teachers' salaries, and investments.

The experienced football official Petr Fousek has been elected as the new head of the Czech Football Association (FAČR). He prevailed against former national player Karel Poborský in the second round of voting at the general assembly on Thursday in Nymburg.

Fousek won 106 votes and 91 votes. He takes over from Martin Malík, who was criticized for allegedly having done little to prevent and clear up the corruption scandal surrounding his former deputy, Roman Berbr.

As of midnight this Thursday, the registry to get vaccinated against coronavirus opens for the group aged 16 to 29 years old.

Meanwhile, a record 110,000 vaccines were administered on Wednesday, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said. Over 1.57 million people (about 10 percent of the population) have been fully vaccinated.

The current foreign residency system relies too heavily on files in paper form that must be physically transferred between workplaces, the Ministry of the Interior argues in a proposal for a digital overhaul.

The system handles the granting and extending various permits to foreigners residing in the country for more than 90 days, reporting of changes due to marriage, the birth of a child, or relocation, and the issuance of new documents.

The Ministry wants to create a new system internally. It estimates that creating and maintaining the system for the first five years will cost 600 million crowns, most of which it hopes to get from the European Union.