Czech Government Ousted For First Time In History; Another Economic Casualty

PRAGUE — The Czech government collapsed Tuesday 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.

The lower house of Parliament voted 101-96 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 to existence after the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia.

Topolanek said he could resign after a planned trip to Brussels on Wednesday. "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.

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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, however, that he was not against Topolanek's government staying in office until the end of the Czech term leading the EU presidency.

The European Union executive said it trusted the Czech Republic would be able to continue its duties in the EU presidency.

"It is for the Czech Republic's democratic process under the constitution to resolve the domestic political issues; the Commission is confident that this is done in a way which ensures the full functioning of the Council Presidency," the European Commission said in a statement.

Meanwhile, it will likely be left to a new government to deal with the two other main issues in Czech Parliament _ the proposed U.S. missile defense project and the EU reform treaty.

The Czech Parliament's lower house has passed the so-called Lisbon Treaty, but the upper house _ controlled by Topolanek's own Euro-skeptic party _ has yet to vote on it. All 27 EU nations must approve the treaty for it to take effect.

The government's deal to allow a U.S. radar base near Prague is also up in the air. Topolanek was forced last week to withdraw legislation on the U.S. missile defense plan from lower house because he did not have enough votes to ensure it would pass.

The missile defense shield was likely to be high on the agenda during Obama's visit April 4-5 to Prague. Obama has never said if the U.S. will go ahead with the deal, brokered under President George W. Bush.

The opposition has argued against the missile defense plan because it could anger Russia, which has vehemently opposed the missile shield within its former sphere of influence. Washington has said the shield, also including 10 interceptor missiles to be housed in neighboring Poland, would protect Europe from attacks by "rogue states" in the Middle East.

Comments

[Living Abroad]

Most of the commentators in this thread obviously haven't been to the Czech Republic recently but those of us that have visited multiple times in the last few years are all too aware of the Americanization / rampant commercialization that has taken place in Prague and 3 or 4 other major Czech cities. And unfortunately, large sectors of Central and Eastern Europe seem to be traveling down the same path. In the 80's and 90's this certainly wasn't the case but today? I'm a sociologist and every indicator points to a Czech society that is "slowly" unraveling (health epidemics, rising unemployment, exponential increase in hard drug usage)...just like what happened to America over the last couple decades.

And the Czechs have been screwed not just by the Communists or Nazis but by the American/Israeli post-millennium hegemony as well. That's what they've been up against for the past 10 years.

[Vern58]

Gee, is this not the man who has called the economic plan for US recovery "A way to hell"?

[melcur]

Excellent new. Now a European country has an opportunity to rid itself of the Zionists controlling its destiny.

[KCFreedom]

How come we don't have a no confidence vote? It could come in handy sometimes.

[Dredd]

You have come a long way Czech people. I like your style.

[earnandsave]

Unbelievab­le.....WHI­LE it holds the Presidency of the EU AND days before Obama's visit

[Ralph Noyes]

I thought the deal almost 20 years ago with the Soviet Union for the reunification of Germany said there would be no NATO missiles east of the old Cold War boundary -- that the old Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe would be more or less a buffer zone, free of heavy armaments.

It was a good idea -- just as bringing the Ukraine and Georgia into NATO is a bad idea.

Mistaken?.

[MilwaukeeDan]

RN, you're right, but then I ask, what is the point of NATO?

[Rog49Thomas]

To protect us from those expansionist Russkis who are seeking to enlarge their military sphere of influence in Europe.

When France joins the Warsaw Pact you'll be singing another tune, my friend.

First Paris and then next Leon's!
Ever had custard made with goats' milk?

[MagisterLudi]

Another canceled Czech....
Before this economic downturn is resolved many governments will be ousted. No surprise here.
There's a human tendency to blame those in power regardless of actual guilt.
In Western Europe the conservatives will win, In Eastern Europe the swing will be to the left, most likely.

[cheforacle]

Could not resist the pun, could you?

[Foreground]

The judges would also have accepted, "This is yet another example of Czechs and Balances."

[indi1216]

it is easy to always blame the United States, but didn't we lend them tons of money???

[facet]

It is also easy to ignore blame where blame is due!

[messy]

No, the Czechs screwed themselves here. The US has NOTHING to do with it.

[jaymzz]

the US screwed the whole world economy so what makes u think that it's got nuthin 2 do with it, @ least indirectly. anyway, the czechs r in no way suffering as much as the irish or icelanders, this ousting was mainly political 4 the governing majority was really thin.

[KimberlyKay]

Well.... a lot of the over-leveraged European loans are in Eastern Europe-- including the Czech Republic. I have little doubt that capital calls have gone out.... and part of the reason those European banks are over-leveraged is AIG so-called "insurance," so yes, we do have something to do with it.

Did our federal government do this? No, AIG forum-shopped its way out of regulation.... but you could call that an act of omission by our government since you'd think somebody in govt. would have realized what AIG was doing before the #$!@ hit the fan.

[outnow]

When I was last there, 70% of the population was against the Bush Radar according to English publications. Czech citizens were becoming hostile to Americans. I am half Czech and I expected some hostility but not young guys trying to run me over in crosswalks and flipping off American tourists. At night, taxi cab drivers told me that they would never visit America.

Neoliberalism is part of the reason for economic failure and the bad feelings; the other part is the militarism of America.

These people have been screwed by the Nazis and the Communists and now by the US and it's debt-based economy. The US could have rescued them when they rebeled against the communists but we chickened out. All their fields are planted in biofuels-producing rapeseed - a good metaphor. Corporate farming based on a single cash crop. With oil prices going down, these crops are a bust.

[MilwaukeeDan]

outnow, Back in the 1990s, I had the pleasure of working with Czechs, mostly engineers, who were here in support of a product line the company I worked for imported. The company provided nice apartments and they were able to bring their families, they also got to travel, pleasure and work, throughout the USA. We talked a lot about the differences in our two cultures. Even though they were much poorer that American engineers, they couldn't wait to go back home. They though America was too commercialized and everything revolved around money. They wanted to be left alone, they didn't like and want the Soviets, but they also didn't want American style capitalism rammed down their throughts. I'm sorry to hear that the economic crisis has hit them hard.

[outnow]

America is too commercialized. Money isn't everything but Czechs have always been very frugal. The writers, composers and artists always loved Prague.

Bush made a big mistake trying to install radar there over the protests of the people. The Prime Minister went along with that and many of the neoliberal programs to further commercialize everything and place the international bankers in control. Many of the new supermarkets were German companies, for example.

I went to the Castle with a women who is an art history teacher and who speaks Czech. The Spring Music Festival was in full force. Other empires have come and gone there but there is an legacy of art, music and literature that is worthwhile. I liked the art nouveau of Muka.

[Rog49Thomas]

The American definition of democracy.

When the leaders of a country have the "courage" to stand up against the wishes of their own people to do what the USA wants.

The Soviet definition of communism.

When the leaders of a country have the "wisdom" to economically exploit their own people for the good of the USSR.

The Czech people have been twice blessed: they've had both "communism" and "democracy".