Post by Jaga on Mar 24, 2009 23:16:58 GMT -7
PRAGUE (AP) -- The Czech government collapsed Tuesday after losing a parliamentary no-confidence vote over its handling of the economic crisis.
It was a huge embarrassment for Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, coming just days before a planned visit by President Barack Obama and midway through the Czech Republic's six-month European Union presidency.
The lower house of Parliament voted 101-96 to declare no confidence in the three-party coalition government, after four lawmakers broke rank with their parties and voted with the opposition. Three legislators were absent from the vote.
It was the first time a government has been ousted by parliament since the country came to existence after the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia.
hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_CZECH_GOVERNMENT_FALLS?SITE=VACUL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
The government has struggled to resolve deep divisions within Parliament over whether to allow components of a U.S. missile defense shield on Czech territory, and whether to adopt the EU reform treaty to streamline decision-making in the bloc.
In recent months, opposition lawmakers also said they became frustrated with the government's response to the global economic slowdown. Before the crisis, the Czech Republic's export-oriented economy had been growing fast, but the country is expected to enter a recession this year. Annual industrial output fell 23.3 percent in January.
The opposition said the government acted too late and did too little - approving a stimulus package only last month worth 70 billion koruna ($3.5 billion), including measures for investments in ecology and infrastructure along with tax cuts and loan guarantees.
It was a huge embarrassment for Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, coming just days before a planned visit by President Barack Obama and midway through the Czech Republic's six-month European Union presidency.
The lower house of Parliament voted 101-96 to declare no confidence in the three-party coalition government, after four lawmakers broke rank with their parties and voted with the opposition. Three legislators were absent from the vote.
It was the first time a government has been ousted by parliament since the country came to existence after the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia.
hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_CZECH_GOVERNMENT_FALLS?SITE=VACUL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
The government has struggled to resolve deep divisions within Parliament over whether to allow components of a U.S. missile defense shield on Czech territory, and whether to adopt the EU reform treaty to streamline decision-making in the bloc.
In recent months, opposition lawmakers also said they became frustrated with the government's response to the global economic slowdown. Before the crisis, the Czech Republic's export-oriented economy had been growing fast, but the country is expected to enter a recession this year. Annual industrial output fell 23.3 percent in January.
The opposition said the government acted too late and did too little - approving a stimulus package only last month worth 70 billion koruna ($3.5 billion), including measures for investments in ecology and infrastructure along with tax cuts and loan guarantees.