Czech cabinet survives confidence vote

The centre-right Czech cabinet survived a parliamentary no-confidence motion that was taken over corruption concerns involving…

The centre-right Czech cabinet survived a parliamentary no-confidence motion that was taken over corruption concerns involving the country's deputy prime minister.

The three-party cabinet, which controls just 100 seats in the 200-seat lower house, has repeatedly faced internal discord since its appointment in January, but the opposition gathered just 97 votes for its dismissal.

The opposition Social Democrats called the vote after the resignation of deputy prime minister Jiri Cunek of the centrist Christian Democrats last month.

Mr Cunek left under pressure from coalition partners due to allegations of bribe-taking when he was a mayor of an eastern Czech town in the 1990s, but the case has since been dropped.

READ MORE

The opposition hoped the affair opened cracks in the government ranks, but the coalition stuck together in the vote and also won the backing of two non-aligned deputies.

The centre-right government has pushed through tax cuts for richer Czechs and companies and cut welfare in a reform aimed at cutting the public budget gap to 2.95 per cent of GDP next year from 3.4 per cent expected this year.

The parliament is due to vote on the 2008 budget later today.