President appoints new government

President Vaclav Klaus has appointed a new 15-member minority government led by Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek. In the government nine are members of the right-of-centre Civic Democratic party while six are unaffiliated. The new cabinet will have thirty days now to ask for a vote of confidence in the lower house, a vote many observers think the new cabinet is unlikely to pass. If it fails, it must step down. Earlier, the new prime minister made clear that he expects the cabinet to be provisional and to lead the country to early elections next year. Other issues high on the agenda will be preparing next year's state budget as well as focusing on the Czech presidency of the European Union in 2009.

The Civic Democrats were members of the opposition since 1997. Following the June elections which they won, they tried but failed to form a coalition government including the Christian Democrats and the Greens - one mandate short of a majority.

Author: Jan Velinger