VAT vote postponed until Thursday to allow Svoboda more time to recover

A crucial Chamber of Deputies vote on a bill to reduce the top VAT rate from 22 to 19 percent has been postponed until Thursday. All Chamber business has been postponed to allow the foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, more time to recover from a recent neck operation. The government, which has a majority of just one in the 200-seat Chamber, needs Mr Svoboda's vote to overturn a veto on the bill by President Vaclav Klaus. The minister is expected to fly to Prague by helicopter from his hospital in Brno to take part in the vote.

The government say the change must be adopted to bring the VAT rate in the Czech Republic into line with that of European Union countries by accession on May 1. However, Mr Klaus's party, the Civic Democrats, say the bill is a mishmash in which the government meets EU requirements but also adds price increases of its own.