Czech interim government clears confidence vote in parliament

Jun 7, 2009, 16:48 GMT

Prague - The Czech interim government of Prime Minister Jan Fischer, which is set to govern until early polls in October, cleared a vote of confidence in parliament's lower house on Sunday.

The caretaker technocrat government took power on May 8, six weeks after the three-party center-right cabinet of former prime minister Mirek Topolanek was embarrassingly ousted in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence midway through the country's presidency of the European Union.

The Fischer-led cabinet is to finish the country's term at the EU helm ending June 30.

Fischer's least popular task is to draft a thrifty state budget amid the global economic crisis. The premier also vowed to battle right-wing extremism which has been on the rise across Eastern Europe.

'The government will do its best to fulfill its duties,' Fischer said after the vote, vowing to work in a 'decent, honest and effective' manner.

The interim cabinet plans to leave privatization decisions to a government that would emerge from the October election, Fischer reiterated on Sunday. The Czech Republic has been in process of selling its 91.5-stake in Czech Airlines.

The 200-seat house approved the interim cabinet in a 156-1 vote, which required a majority of the 194 present lawmakers. Thirty-seven lawmakers abstained from the vote and six were not present.

The government was backed by Topolanek's right-wing Civic Democrats, his fierce rivals, the Social Democrats of Jiri Paroubek, the Greens and several independents.