Czech government loses confidence vote
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 26, 2009 00:00
PRAGUE - The Czech government has collapsed after losing a parliamentary no-confidence vote over its handling of the economic crisis. It was a huge embarrassment for Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, coming just days before a planned visit by President Barack Obama and midway through the Czech Republic's six-month European Union presidency.
Topolanek later told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that the collapse of his government will not affect his running of the EU presidency.
The lower house of Parliament voted 101-96 Tuesday to declare no confidence in the three-party coalition government, after four lawmakers broke rank with their parties and voted with the opposition. Three legislators were absent from the vote.
It was the first time a government has been ousted by parliament since the country came into existence after the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia.
Topolanek said he could resign after a planned trip to Brussels yesterday. "I take the vote into account and will act according to the Constitution," he said.
There has been no indication of whom President Vaclav Klaus might choose to form a new cabinet. If three attempts to form a government fail, early elections must be called.
Topolanek's minority coalition took charge in January 2007, after months of difficult negotiations following 2006 general elections that resulted in no clear winner.
The government has struggled to resolve deep divisions within parliament over whether to allow components of a U.S. missile defense shield on Czech territory, and whether to adopt the EU reform treaty to streamline decision-making in the bloc.
In recent months, opposition lawmakers also said they became frustrated with the government's response to the global economic slowdown. Before the crisis, the Czech Republic's export-oriented economy had been growing fast, but the country is expected to enter a recession this year. Annual industrial output fell 23.3 percent in January.
The opposition said the government acted too late and did too little - approving a stimulus package only last month worth 70 billion koruna ($3.5 billion), including measures for investments in ecology and infrastructure along with tax cuts and loan guarantees.
"The government got what it deserved," said former Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, who leads the opposition Social Democratic party. "It was not able to handle the affects of the economic crisis." Paroubek said.
The lower house of Parliament voted 101-96 Tuesday to declare no confidence in the three-party coalition government, after four lawmakers broke rank with their parties and voted with the opposition. Three legislators were absent from the vote.
It was the first time a government has been ousted by parliament since the country came into existence after the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia.
Topolanek said he could resign after a planned trip to Brussels yesterday. "I take the vote into account and will act according to the Constitution," he said.
There has been no indication of whom President Vaclav Klaus might choose to form a new cabinet. If three attempts to form a government fail, early elections must be called.
Topolanek's minority coalition took charge in January 2007, after months of difficult negotiations following 2006 general elections that resulted in no clear winner.
The government has struggled to resolve deep divisions within parliament over whether to allow components of a U.S. missile defense shield on Czech territory, and whether to adopt the EU reform treaty to streamline decision-making in the bloc.
In recent months, opposition lawmakers also said they became frustrated with the government's response to the global economic slowdown. Before the crisis, the Czech Republic's export-oriented economy had been growing fast, but the country is expected to enter a recession this year. Annual industrial output fell 23.3 percent in January.
The opposition said the government acted too late and did too little - approving a stimulus package only last month worth 70 billion koruna ($3.5 billion), including measures for investments in ecology and infrastructure along with tax cuts and loan guarantees.
"The government got what it deserved," said former Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, who leads the opposition Social Democratic party. "It was not able to handle the affects of the economic crisis." Paroubek said.