Vote of confidence, what's the point?
The opposition right-wing Civic Democrats have begun collecting signatures among party colleagues to back a proposal to hold a vote of confidence in parliament, which it plans to submit to the lower house at its next session. But what are they trying to achieve, when the chances of them meeting their goal of a no confidence vote for the current coalition government are so low? Politicians from the ruling coalition do not feel threatened and have labelled this attempt as a waste of time, stressing that the opposition would only be shooting itself in the foot as a confidence vote would have coalition MPs unite in support of the government, thereby making the coalition stronger.
Although the Civic Democrats have been vocal about bringing down Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla's cabinet, behind the scenes they are reported to have admitted that it is unlikely they would win a no confidence vote, even if supported by the Communists. Not even the so-called rebels in the senior coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, who have been strongly opposing a new government public finance reform plan, are willing to vote against the ruling coalition, should they be faced with a confidence vote. 101 votes against the government are needed for a no-confidence vote to be passed. Votes from the rebel MPs are therefore imperative.
This week, senior representatives of the Communist Party have also said they would support the call for a vote of confidence and vote against the government. But the Social Democrats and their other two coalition partners - the Freedom Union and the Christian Democrats - are relaxed, convinced they have nothing to fear. According to Petr Ibl, the head of the Social Democrat's Club in Parliament, no one in his party has said so far, they would vote against the government. Labour and Social Affairs Minister Zdenek Skromach has furthermore said that the ten rebel Social Democrats have assured their party they would not stab it in the back.
So, what's the point of all of this? It appears that the opposition has also not worked out a plan on how to continue, should the lower house vote against the current government. And then, if a no confidence vote were passed, there is the question of whether the opposition ought to call for a new government and whom the president would entrust with its establishment. And also, what political and economical consequences would a fallen government bring to a country that's just months away from joining the European Union? Even the opposition has asked itself this question and finds the answers not to be favourable.
So why would they hold the vote? Is their proposal just hot air? Well, political analysts say, the Civic Democrats' call for a confidence vote is just another political game to let the public see it is openly expressing its dissatisfaction with the work of the current government and is acting as a true opposition. While for some this may seem like a waste of time, others believe it is a cunning step to gain them significant public support in the next real parliamentary elections.
