Ruling coalition survives no-confidence vote

The centre-right coalition government survived a vote of no-confidence in the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday night. The main opposition Social Democrats and Communist Party mustered 80 votes for the motion, falling short of the required 101 votes needed to unseat the government. The no-confidence motion was tabled by the opposition Social Democrats in the wake of a corruption scandal at the Environment Ministry that has divided the ruling parties. Although questions remain, emergency consultations at Prague Castle ahead of the vote won the government the support of all coalition deputies.

The scandal, involving allegations of manipulation with public tenders at the State Environmental Fund in order to raise money for the Civic Democrats, has raised the ire of the junior coalition party Public Affairs which threatened to withhold its support for the government. The scandal has also implicated Prime Minister Nečas of the Civic Democrats who has come under fire for failing to act when he was first alerted about the matter. Addressing the lower house ahead of the vote, the prime minister said he was aware of the gravity of the situation and promised that the corruption allegations would be thoroughly investigated.