Czech Government Faces Second Confidence Vote Since January on Thursday

PRAGUE (Sputnik) - Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala's government faces a new vote of confidence in parliament on Thursday, making it the opposition’s second bid this year to oust the center-right coalition.

Former Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s centrist ANO movement and the right-wing Freedom and Direct Democracy called the vote for September 1 after accusing Fiala of holding back support for struggling households and industries hit by rising energy costs, Czech Radio reported.

The debate on the motion of no confidence in Fiala’s leadership is expected to stretch into Friday evening and chances of it toppling the government are slim. The ruling coalition holds 108 seats in the 200-seat lower house of parliament. The opposition has 92 votes, nine votes short of a simple majority.

ANO and Freedom and Direct Democracy last made the bid to force Fiala out of office in January when they accused his five-party coalition of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic and failing to respond to the soaring inflation driven by the energy crisis.

The prices skyrocketed amid sanctions, which the US, Britain and the EU imposed against Moscow, following the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. As a result of the restrictions, energy situation in Europe significantly deteriorated considerably and a wave of inflation hit the European countries.