Czech Republic: President Zeman forms technocratic government

In an effort to end the political crisis related to a corruption and espionage scandal, Czech President Milos Zeman on July 10 formed a technocratic government headed by newly appointed Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok.

With a cabinet largely made up of allies of President Zeman, the technocratic government led by Mr. Rusnok has announced that it will prioritize the 2014 state budget plan, in the context of the Czech economy falling into a prolonged recession.

Czech President Milos Zeman (right) and newly appointed Prime Minister,
Mr. Jiri Rusnok. (Photo: AP)

Although Mr. Rusnok affirmed that he would do his best to serve the country, President Zeman's decision to form a technocratic government was met with anger from the ruling center-right coalition, which holds a majority in parliament, and had previously put forward its own candidate for the position of new cabinet head.

The coalition remains committed to running the country until general elections in May 2014.

According to analysts, Prime Minister Rusnok's cabinet will face a confidence vote within 30 days and it is likely that the new government will not pass the difficult test because the center-right coalition opposes Mr. Zeman's choice.

In a first reaction since Mr. Rusnok was appointed Prime Minister, Deputy Chairman of the TOP09 party in the ruling coalition Miroslav Kalousek announced that Mr. Rusnok's cabinet would not be able to pass a vote of confidence in the parliament.

And if this becomes a reality, the Czech Republic will continue to be mired in political instability and the possibility of an early election cannot be ruled out.

The Czech Republic fell into a political crisis when Prime Minister Petr Necas resigned on June 17 amid the arrest of a series of his close aides and political allies on charges of involvement in a corruption and espionage scandal.

This means that the cabinet headed by Mr. Petr Necas must also resign./.

According to (TTXVN) - DT