Government survives vote of no confidence

The coalition government, led by Prime Minister Petr Nečas, survived a vote of no confidence on Thursday evening. The opposition initiated the vote in reaction to the recent presidential amnesty which had been counter-signed by the premier, which saw the release of more than 7,000 prisoners and halted, or threatens to halt, a number of major corruption and economic crime cases. The opposition was able to find support of 92 MPs - far short of the 101 needed to bring down the government. The attempt was the fifth by the opposition to topple the centre-right cabinet.