After a record-breakingly long and heated debate that began on January 13, the new Czech coalition government of populists led by billionaire Andrej Babiš, radical nationalists, and Eurosceptic conservatives has, as expected, won the confidence of parliament.
All 108 MPs from Babiš's coalition, Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO), the radicals from the Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD), and the Eurosceptic Motorists for Themselves, voted for confidence in the government.
The opposition, 91 MPs from center-right parties, and one absent, were against, the national news agency ČTK reported.
Babiš sought confidence in the government, which he promised would make the Czech Republic the best place to live on the entire planet, and for the government, Czech citizens would come first, and would no longer provide money directly from the Czech budget to help foreigners, including the attacked Ukraine.
The opposition fiercely criticized the government in the debate for not mentioning the risks of Russia's aggression against Ukraine in the program, although Defense Minister Jaromir Zuna, while answering parliamentary questions during the break in the debate, pointed out that Russia is the aggressor that attacked Ukraine.
"I am convinced that Ukraine has the right to defend itself in accordance with international law and should have the means to defend itself realistically. I believe it is legitimate for Ukraine to be assisted in this defense by allies in accordance with international obligations," said the new Minister of Defense.
Former Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky accused the new government of allowing political extremism, incitement to hatred, and Russian propaganda into Czech foreign policy.
Prime Minister Babiš, however, refused to comment on the anti-Ukrainian and anti-European statements and harsh insults to Ukrainians made by his coalition partners, primarily the leader of the radical nationalists, the Speaker of the Lower House Tomio Okamura.
"The government's program is designed so that there is no war raging in Europe at all. With (Slovak Prime Minister) Robert Fico, (Hungarian) Viktor Orban, they have created a club of three countries that refuse to behave responsibly even though they are among those most exposed to Russian threats. The Czech Republic is thus turning to the East and is unable to fully stand by its allies," former Prime Minister Petr Fijala emphasized in the debate.
The opposition also criticized Babiš for entering a coalition with radical nationalists and becoming their hostage, instead of being a strong prime minister, because he needs them to prevent the parliament from revoking Babiš's immunity, and to avoid a trial on charges of fraud with two million euros in European subsidies for the family farm "Rodino Gnijezdo", which is nearing its end, and he faces a suspended prison sentence and a large fine.
The leader of the radical nationalists, Okamura, is also hiding behind parliamentary immunity, facing criminal prosecution for a hate crime due to a drastic and morbid, xenophobic campaign reminiscent of Nazi and Stalinist ones, as assessed by a Czech court in another trial, against refugees and Roma on posters ahead of the parliamentary elections in early October last year.
Parliament will vote on the request to lift the immunity of Babiš and Okamura in January, and since the ruling coalition has a comfortable 108 votes, it is expected that by the end of the term, both Babiš and Okamura will be safely protected from criminal prosecution.
During the debate, which lasted a record-breaking long time, more than 25 hours, without night breaks, there were mutual insults, recommendations to each other to go for treatment, who is a liar and a thief and who is not, who is a sexist pig, and MPs from the ruling coalition and the opposition posted addresses and lines that they considered effective on social media for all three days.
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