No-confidence vote in cabinet due next Wednesday

The lower house is to take a vote of no-confidence in the centre-right government next Wednesday, July 18. The session was called by lower house speaker Miroslava Němcová at the initiative of the opposition Social Democrats. The house will also debate a proposal to set up a parliamentary committee to look into alleged political interventions into the police investigation of the dubious purchase of CASA military aircraft for the Czech army. The opposition, which has called for the dismissal of Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, over his alleged role in the affair, has tabled a vote of no-confidence despite the fact that to all accounts it does not have the 101 votes needed to bring down the government.