MPs to decide whether to return proposed state budget

The Czech Chamber of Deputies will vote on Wednesday on whether to return next year’s draft state budget to the government for revision, the Czech News Agency reported. The outgoing government coalition of Petr Fiala (ODS) submitted the proposal with a planned deficit of CZK 286 billion in October, but the incoming ANO, SPD and Motorists coalition claims roughly CZK 96 billion is missing and wants the draft rewritten.

Andrej Babiš, leader of ANO and likely the next Czech prime minister, said on Tuesday that the draft state budget is unfixable and must be rewritten. The new budget committee, where the incoming coalition holds a majority, has already recommended sending it back.

The debate is also being linked to the incoming coalition’s proposal – led by SPD – to freeze politicians‘ salaries from January.