Government to seek confidence vote next Friday

The ruling centre-right coalition will seek a vote of confidence in the lower house of Parliament next Friday, according to the speaker of the lower house Miloslav Vlcek. The government of the Civic Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Green Party, which was appointed on Tuesday, holds only half of the 200 seats in the lower house of Parliament and needs at least one vote from a Communist or a Social Democrat deputy.

Though the leaders of both parties have said they would not support the coalition, two Social Democrat MPs - Milos Melcak and Michal Pohanka - have not made it clear whether they share their party's official stance. Prime Minister Topolanek has sent all Social Democratic Party deputies in the lower house a letter asking them to support his cabinet or tolerate it by absenting themselves from the vote.