The Czech cabinet managed to overcome a vote of no confidence — the opposition in the parliament did not have enough votes of deputies to express a vote to the government of Andrei Babis, the CTK news agency reports.
A total of 101 votes in the 200-member House of Parliament are needed to pass a vote of no confidence in the Czech Republic. During the meeting, only 89 deputies supported the opposition, while 82 opposed the vote. The other 29 were not present in the chamber.
The agency notes that the debate before the vote, which lasted about 12 hours, was accompanied by disagreements between members of the opposition and members of the centrist ANO party, who defended the current government and questioned the call for a vote for four months before the parliamentary elections. By the end of the debate, the deputies had already begun to get personal and did not hesitate in their expressions.
Opposition party leaders accused the government of, among other things, failing to effectively counter the coronavirus pandemic and provide international support for the Czech Republic amid a diplomatic row with Russia.
On April 17, the Czech authorities announced their decision to expel 18 Russian diplomats. According to the European media, the exiles were Russian intelligence officers and worked undercover. It was alleged that Russian special services were allegedly involved in an explosion at an ammunition depot in the Czech village of Vrbetice, which killed two people. Moscow has denied the accusations, and in response, the Russian Foreign Ministry has declared 20 Czech diplomats persona non grata.
Earlier, the opposition of the Czech Republic called on Interior Minister Jan Gamacek to resign after the publication in the media of information about the intentions of the Czech side to negotiate with Russia before the public accusation of involvement in the explosions in Vrbetice.
