The government of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has won its vote of confidence following hours of tense deliberations, it has emerged.
MPs voted on the proposal on Thursday evening, with the ballot swaying in the government’s favor by 106 votes to 87.
Politicians from the governing coalition parties unsurprisingly backed the motion, whilst ANO and SPD (Freedom and Direct Democracy) MPs voted against.
The parliamentary meeting began on Wednesday morning and lasted more than 22 hours. It was suspended in the meantime due to a special meeting of the Chamber of Deputies on the financing of the STAN (Mayors and the Independents) party.
The Chamber of Deputies session resumed on Thursday at 6 p.m, with Deputies proceeding to vote an hour later.
At the end of Thursday’s debate, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) rejected the ANO representatives’ claim that his government was taking over the Czech Republic in excellent condition. He noted that the country reports the highest budget deficit on record and faces rising inflation.
According to the prime minister, it is necessary to resolve the legacy left by the former cabinet of Andrej Babiš with its spendthrift style. Babiš subsequently insisted that Czechia is in very good condition and one of the least indebted countries in the European Union.
The session started on Wednesday morning
The Chamber of Deputies session began on Wednesday morning. The debate dragged on into the early hours, and the last person to speak was the chairman of the ANO movement and former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Instead of voting, however, after his speech, Tomio Okamura (SPD) insisted that it was first necessary to discuss the financing of the Mayors and Independents, one of the government parties. This was to be the topic of a special meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. on Thursday.
The Speaker of the House Markéta Pekarová Adamová (TOP09) then adjourned the meeting until 6 p.m.
In the last election period, negotiations on the confidence vote concerning the Andrej Babiš government lasted 16 hours.
