EU presidency in disarray as Czech prime minister resigns

THE PROSPECT of snap elections in the Czech Republic has grown after outgoing prime minister Mirek Topolanek supported early polls and President Vaclav Klaus rejected the idea of a caretaker government running the country for several months.

Mr Topolanek submitted his resignation yesterday, after his government’s narrow defeat in Tuesday’s confidence vote in parliament, in which two members of the ruling Civic Democrat party (ODS) sided with the opposition Social Democrats and Communists.

The government’s fall raised doubts about Prague’s ability to provide authoritative leadership during its term as president of the European Union, which ends on June 30th, and fuelled fears in the EU over the fate of the embattled Lisbon Treaty, which has yet to be passed by a largely hostile upper house of the Czech parliament.

It is now up to Mr Klaus – one of the most prominent and scathing critics of the treaty and many other EU projects – to name a new candidate for prime minister, who must then seek the approval of a fractious parliament divided almost equally between left- and right-wing parties.

The Czech constitution imposes no time limit on when the president must make his choice, and most analysts had expected Mr Topolanek’s lame-duck administration to stay in office until at least the end of June, when the EU presidency passes on to Sweden.

Mr Klaus called for swift action yesterday, however. “The solution must be rapid, that means visible, in a short time. The complicated economic situation and the presidency of the European Union demand it,” he said. “I will not allow a non-solution of the problem, for example a temporary state of affairs until the end of our EU presidency, until an early election or even normal elections. I am in favour of a government which can rely on a political understanding in the lower house.”

However, it would be extremely hard for a coalition led by the ODS or Social Democrats to secure a majority in parliament, and protracted efforts to build an alliance could only distract from the running of the EU presidency.

Mr Topolanek – who accuses Mr Klaus of undermining his government – said he favoured snap elections. “It is such a stalemate and it has hurt the Czech Republic so much that the only chance is an early election as soon as possible,” he said.

Analysts have said that changing the government during the presidency could weaken its clout, as new ministers would face a tough time leading the EU agenda without prior experience.

The stalemate has cast a shadow over the ratification of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which has been stuck in the Czech upper house, the Senate, where many Civic Democrats – cheered on by Mr Klaus – oppose it.

Deputy prime minister Alexandr Vondra said it would be tougher to convince them to support the treaty after the government’s collapse. – (Additional reporting: Reuters)