Lengthy debate ends with predictable win for new Czech government in lower house confidence vote

In a debate lasting over seven hours, Prime Minister Petr Nečas outlined the new Czech government’s comprehensive reform plans to the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday. His cabinet easily won the backing of the lower house in the confidence vote that followed. But now the really difficult work starts for the coalition.

Petr Nečas (in the center), photo: CTK

There were cheers at around 9.30 on Tuesday evening when the results of the confidence vote were announced. The new coalition government had easily passed its first real test, winning the backing of all 118 of its MPs in the 200-seat lower house.

Some seven hours earlier, the prime minister, Petr Nečas, had outlined the priorities of his cabinet. His Civic Democrats and coalition partners TOP 09 and Public Affairs have pledged to balance the country’s budget within six years, and undertake fundamental reform of the pension, health and tertiary education systems.

“It is a known fact that every crisis is at the same time an opportunity. It just has to be understood correctly. It’s the same with the current financial crisis, which has clearly shown us that there are many, long-ripe social problems, which had previously been left for the indefinite future, with the idea that they would somehow just disappear. The current catharsis allows us to offer society a more positive vision than cuts alone.”

Mr Nečas also told the lower house that the deep reforms would be carried out in a manner that was sensitive to weaker sections of society, and promised to explain to the public just why they were needed.

Karel Schwarzenberg (left), Petr Nečas, photo: CTK

“Every citizen should be aware that we are not planning to make cuts to the point of social debilitation or stasis. Quite the opposite. The sense of this temporary self-denial is to make our country more dynamic and competitive. In brief, these cuts are not a temporary measure but real and deep reforms of all key systems.”

Much of the long debate was taken up by opposition deputies weighing in against the government’s policies. The oldest member of the Chamber of Deputies, 72-year-old foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg, has a reputation for nodding off, and appeared to do so at least briefly on Tuesday. Mr Schwarzenberg told reporters the system ought to be changed to make such sessions shorter.

“It was tedious, tedious. I think it would be beneficial if on such occasions only the prime minister and the leader of the opposition were allowed to speak for longer than five minutes. Today I didn’t hear any new arguments.”

However, Lubomír Zaorálek of the opposition Social Democrats wanted more talk, not less. He was unimpressed that the only member of the government who spoke at all during Tuesday’s session was Prime Minister Nečas – and even he wouldn’t enter into any real discussion.

“This is a completely new thing that we’ve seen today. We represent the interests of citizens here, we represent their reservations, their doubts. That’s legitimate – we didn’t just speak for ourselves. The fact we received no answers from the government, that the prime minister didn’t reply to direct questions from myself or others, is to my mind a sign of weakness and arrogance. And it strikes me as really embarrassing.”

With the biggest majority ever seen in the Czech lower house, the newly confirmed government could hardly be considered weak. The hurdle of the confidence vote behind it, it will now start the really tough work: selling an unprecedented austerity programme to the country’s voters.