Czech government survives no-confidence vote

Prague: The Czech government survived a Parliamentary vote of no-confidence brought by the Opposition, which was angered by a Presidential amnesty.

The left-wing Opposition fell nine votes short of the 101 needed to dismiss the centre-right government on Thursday, with only 92 legislators voting in favour of the motion while 97 opposed it. It was the fifth such no-confidence vote the coalition government has survived since taking power in 2010. To mark the country`s 20th anniversary of independence on January 1, Vaclav Klaus used a traditional tool of Czech presidents and ordered the release of about 6,000 inmates serving short prison terms. As part of his pardon, Klaus also stopped court proceedings in several high-profile long-term fraud cases, which angered many Czechs. The Opposition said the government is also to blame because Prime Minister Petr Necas had to co-sign the amnesty. Necas said it was just a formal act. The government was split over the issue. Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who runs for President in next week`s Presidential runoff election, walked out of the vote in protest, saying Necas failed to inform him about the amnesty. Thirty lawmakers from Parliament`s Upper House have challenged the amnesty at the Constitutional Court. PTI