The Czech coalition government of Petr Fiala (ODS) withstood a fourth opposition attempt to pass a vote of no confidence, this time prompted by the bitcoin scandal, in the Chamber of Deputies yesterday.
The result was expected. The no-confidence motion was only supported by MPs of the opposition ANO and Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), now also joined by the Pirates, who left the government camp last autumn. The government of ODS, Mayors and Independents (STAN), Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and TOP 09 will continue to govern with the confidence of the lower house.
The debate took two days, with more than 24 hours of discussion.
The 98 MPs from the ruling ODS, STAN, KDU-CSL and TOP 09 who were present voted against the motion. The 94 ANO, SPD and Pirate MPs present voted in favour, falling short of the absolute majority of 101 votes needed to overthrow the cabinet.
The no-confidence vote was triggered by ANO MPs over a billion-crown donation to the Ministry of Justice in bitcoins of questionable origin. The donation was made by a man with previous convictions for embezzlement, drug trafficking and illegal weapon dealing. The scandal led to the resignation of Justice Minister Pavel Blazek, who has also suspended his membership of ODS and will not be defending his seat in the autumn.
The opposition has called for the resignation of at least Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura (ODS), who they claim already knew about the intention of the donation. ANO leader Andrej Babis said he considered Stanjura the key to the bitcoin case, without whom the transaction would not have taken place.
He and SPD leader Tomio Okamura accused the government of attempting to launder illegal and untaxed money from organised crime by accepting the donation.
Olga Richterova, the deputy chair of the Pirates and the lower house, said that Stanjura had the documents and did not act. “Money laundering must be consistently fought and not assisted in any way, which is why the resignation of the finance minister is needed,” she said.
Stanjura objected to these interpretations of his role. He said Babis had presented “a conspiracy theory, a bunch of nonsense and gibberish.”
Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) described the acceptance of the controversial bitcoin donation as an unnecessary problem that could have been avoided. The prime minister acknowledged that his cabinet had shattered trust in state institutions, and promised to investigate the matter in order to restore it.
The previous vote of no confidence in the government was held in October last year, when the debate lasted over 31 hours. In January 2023, the Chamber deliberated for more than 25 hours. The first attempted no-confidence motion against the Fiala government took place in September 2022, when MPs came to a vote after 22 hours.
Of the 20 attempts to vote no confidence in the government during the period of the independent Czech Republic, only one has succeeded; in 2009, the lower house ousted the cabinet of ODS Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek.
