Babis Doesn’t Expect to Win Confidence Vote

Andrej Babis Milos Zeman

Prague,  (CTK) – The Czech cabinet of Andrej Babis (ANO) will hold an extraordinary meeting at 13:00 on Monday to approve the final version of the government policy statement it would submit to the Chamber of Deputies along with a request for a confidence vote on Wednesday, Babis told Czech Television today.

 

He said he does not expect his ANO minority government to win lawmakers’ confidence right on the first try.

 

According to Czech Television (CT), the updated government policy statement is ten pages slimmer than its original version, with digitisation and a pension reform remaining the main issues in focus.

 

The original document had about 40 pages. Babis said some words have been changed and the text has been reduced.

 

“I more or less expect us not to win [the lower house’s confidence. The positions of most parties in this respect were resolute,” Babis said.

 

Out of the other eight parties in the Chamber of Deputies, none promised to support the ANO minority government in the past days, except for the Communists (KSCM), who said they would make their mind yet.

 

Nevertheless, the support of the KSCM, which has 15 deputies in the 200-seat Chamber, would not be enough for the cabinet of ANO (78 deputies) to win the Chamber’s confidence.

 

Babis said he would not negotiate with parties’ chairmen on their parties support for his cabinet any more before the crucial vote.

 

The lower house debate before the vote will start at 10:00 on Wednesday. President Milos Zeman plans to address the deputies at 11:00.

 

Zeman previously said he would assign Babis, whose ANO smoothly won the October 2017 general election, with another try to form a cabinet if his current minority cabinet fails to win lawmakers’ confidence.