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PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHPG #0053/01 0201244
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201244Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8467
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000053 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EZ
SUBJECT: CZECH POLITICS:  AFTER 230 DAYS, A CONFIRMED 
GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: PRAGUE 25 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Nearly eight months after deadlocked 
parliamentary elections, a coalition government has won a 
vote of confidence in the Czech Parliament.  By a vote of 
100-97, Prime Minister Topolanek's second government won its 
vote of confidence on January 19.  The three-party coalition 
of Topolanek's center-right ODS, supported by the smaller 
Christian Democrats and Greens, has exactly half of the 200 
seats in the lower house.  It won after two defectors from 
the opposition Social Democrats agreed to abstain from 
voting.  The new government has a firmly transatlanticist 
orientation and an ambitious reform agenda.  However, with 
every vote in parliament likely to be a struggle, it remains 
to be seen just how effective the government will be, and how 
long it will last.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In the latest surprising turn in the saga that 
followed the deadlocked June 2-3 national elections, PM 
Topolanek's second government won a vote of confidence on 
January 19, despite serious doubts just a few days earlier 
that Topolanek could overcome opposition within his own party 
and the apparent unwillingness of any MPs outside of the 
three-party coalition to enable the vote to pass.  Topolanek 
met on January 16 with the two deputies who had left the 
Social Democratic (CSSD) party club in recent months, Milos 
Melcak and Michal Pohanka, and appeared with them in public 
as they announced that they would both abstain in the January 
19 vote.  Rebels within Topolanek's ODS, including ODS Deputy 
and Prague Mayor Pavel Bem, subsequently voiced public 
support for the Topolanek government.  Although the debate on 
January 19 was extremely long -- with nearly 40 members of 
the lower chamber taking the floor to make a statement in 
front of the TV cameras -- when the vote concluded just 
before 8:00pm the result was as anticipated (with the 
exception that one CSSD deputy did not use the proper format 
in casting his vote, invalidating his ballot, although he 
made clear that his intent was to vote against the 
government; note that early announcements that the vote was 
99-98 resulted from a mistake at the parliament; the final 
and official tally was 100-97). 
 
¶3. (SBU) Topolanek -- who has been battling a cold all week 
-- was careful not to boast following the victory.  He 
accurately captured the sense of relief that most politicians 
and observers felt after both the extended political deadlock 
and the drawn out parliamentary debate.  Rather than 
boasting, he and other coalition leaders highlighted the hard 
work ahead of them.  Green Party Chairman and Deputy PM 
Martin Bursik put a positive spin on the coalition's weak 
position by noting that it will "force the government to work 
in an equitable and reliable manner, which will foster 
political dialogue."  Topolanek also promised to cooperate 
with the opposition CSSD. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment: For over seven months, as he struggled to 
pull together a working government after leading his party to 
a clear victory in the June elections, PM Topolanek has been 
dismissed as not being up to the task.  And repeatedly he has 
proved both critics and skeptics wrong.  He did it again this 
week.  Topolanek, who has been serving as prime minister 
since early September, will now be able to focus on the 
ambitious tasks his center-right coalition has established 
for itself (reftel), and on the upcoming negotiations on a 
U.S. radar in the country.  He will confront many obstacles, 
including lingering opposition within his party, the 
challenge of keeping the two CSSD rebels satisfied, and the 
presence in the coalition of the untested Green party.  There 
is no guarantee that this government will succeed in serving 
out the remainder of its four-year term.  But it would be a 
mistake to dismiss it too soon.  Septel will further analyze 
the Topolanek government's prospects.  End comment. 
 
¶5. (U) Following is the full composition of the Czech 
government (ODS - Civic Democrats, KDU-CSL - Christian 
Democrats, SZ - Greens): 
Prime Minister: Mirek Topolanek (ODS) 
Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs:  Alexander Vondra 
(ODS) 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development: 
Jiri Cunek (KDU-CSL) 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment:  Martin 
Bursik  (SZ) 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor/Social Affairs: 
Petr Necas (ODS) 
Foreign Affairs:  Karel Schwarzenberg (ODA; nominated by SZ) 
Finance:  Miroslav Kalousek (KDU-CSL) 
Interior:  Ivan Langer (ODS) 
 
PRAGUE 00000053  002 OF 002 
 
 
Health:  Tomas Julinek (ODS) 
Transport:  Ales Rebicek (ODS) 
Industry    :  Martin Riman (ODS) 
Culture:  Helena Trestikova (KDU-CSL) 
Agriculture:  Petr Gandalovic (ODS) 
Justice:  Jiri Pospisil (ODS) 
Defense     :  Vlasta Parkanova (KDU-CSL) 
Education:  Dana Kuchtova  (SZ) 
Legislative Affairs:  Cyril Svoboda (KDU-CSL) 
Minister without Portfolio (for Minorities and Govt Advisory 
Bodies):  Dzamila Stehlikova (SZ) 
GRABER