Government survives no-confidence vote

The centre right government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek on Wednesday survived a no-confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament. The vote came in the wake of the ruling parties’ crushing defeat in regional elections last weekend. Prime Minister Topolánek’s government remains in office thanks to the coalition rebels who were reluctant to give an opening to the leftist opposition. Two rebels from the Green Party absented themselves from the vote and three Civic Democrat rebel MPs abstained from the vote. The no-confidence motion got 96 votes, 5 votes short of the 101 the opposition needed to bring down the government.