PRAGUE — The Czech government led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote called by the opposition on Wednesday, despite a standoff with President Petr Pavel that has tested the coalition’s control of key appointments. The opposition sought to remove the three-party government after Pavel declined to appoint a minister-designate linked to Pavel’s dispute with the coalition.
In the 200-seat lower house, only 84 opposition lawmakers voted for dismissal. The AP reporting said that at least 101 votes were required to oust the government at the end of a two-day debate.
The controversy centered on Pavel’s refusal to appoint a minister from the right-wing Motorists for Themselves Euro-skeptic party. Pavel said that Motorist Filip Turek was ineligible to serve as environment minister after a daily newspaper published posts from his Facebook page that were found to be openly racist, homophobic and sexist, AP said.
Turek apologized for some posts but denied that he authored others, according to the report. Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, who is also head of the Motorists party, then accused Pavel of violating the constitution and warned of consequences, including working to prevent Pavel from representing the Czech Republic at a NATO summit this year if he did not appoint his associate.
Pavel rejected the accusation, AP said, accusing Macinka of blackmailing him. Babiš rejected opposition calls to dismiss Macinka, and AP said Macinka’s Motorists party has refused to apologize.
The president’s office is largely ceremonial in the Czech political system, but Pavel’s role includes swearing in ministers at the request of the prime minister. Pavel and Babiš met Wednesday over the dispute, with Pavel saying his decision not to appoint Turek was final and with Babiš saying the issue was over for him.
The report said that on Dec. 15, Pavel swore in Babiš and the new government, which allied itself with two smaller political groups: Freedom and Direct Democracy, an anti-migrant party, and the Motorists. The coalition’s agenda includes steering the country away from supporting Ukraine and rejecting some European Union policies, AP said.
Tens of thousands of Czechs rallied Sunday in Prague and elsewhere in support of the president, AP reported. The article also said that while the president and the opposition are staunch supporters of Ukraine, Babiš’s coalition has taken a different approach.