‘Rusnok will hit the wall. He’ll hear NO 103 times’

Jiří Rusnok’s caretaker government will struggle to win a knife-edge confidence vote in the Czech parliament on August 7, with 103 MPs out of 200 preparing to vote against the administration, writes Hospodářské noviny.

The caretaker government was appointed by an increasingly power-hungry President Miloš Zeman after PM Petr Nečas’s right-wing cabinet was brought down by claims of corruption, abuse of office and a love affair between the premier and his chief of staff.

Rusnok has already declared he could govern the country until the 2014 general elections even without parliament’s consent. Meanwhile, parliament is attempting to limit government power by preparing a constitutional bill that would only allow the cabinet to replace personnel in state run companies if it wins the vote. Rusnok’s government has launched an extensive purge of staff in public institutions and companies.