By Nicholas Watson of bne

The Czech coalition government managed to see off a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday evening, but a perfect storm of sleaze, voter unpopularity, political infighting and a weak economy promises to make the remainder of its term in office a struggle.

The three-party, centre-right coalition held ranks long enough to defeat a parliamentary no-confidence motion, its fourth in less than two years, called by the opposition Social Democrats. The opposition required 101 votes in the 200-seat lower house to topple the government, but managed only 89. Continue reading »

The centre-right Czech government has no intention of letting up on its fiscal tightening programme, a senior minister tells beyondbrics after several weeks of turmoil caused by the disintegration of one of the parties in the coalition and a vote of confidence set for later on Friday night.

The government of premier Petr Necas looks set to gain a narrow majority in the 200-member parliament after the smallest coalition member – Public Affairs – formed a breakaway grouping with enough votes to allow the two year old government to continue functioning. Continue reading »