New Government under Andrej Babiš Wins Confidence Vote after Record Debate

After an intense debate, the Czech Chamber of Deputies expressed its confidence in the new coalition government of ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě 103 days after the parliamentary elections.

The new government of ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě, led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, received the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday evening. The vote was preceded by a record debate lasting around 26 hours. The opposition used the debate to criticise the new government’s economic plans and warned that the Cabinet’s foreign policy could endanger the country’s security.

In the end, all 108 MPs from the coalition parties ANO, SPD and Motoristé sobě voted for the government. Ninety-one MPs from the opposition parties ODS, STAN, Pirates, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 voted against the Cabinet. STAN MP Barbora Urbanová did not participate in the vote for health reasons.

The confidence debate spanned three sitting days and, at around 26 hours, became the longest discussion on a confidence vote in the Chamber to date. By comparison, the longest previous debate on a Cabinet took place four years ago regarding the Fiala Cabinet and lasted more than 23 hours in total. The two-day discussion in January 2022, also marked by opposition criticism, took around 21.5 hours.

The Chamber of Deputies’ approval of the new government under Prime Minister Babiš came on the 103rd day after the parliamentary elections – by comparison, four years ago the Chamber granted confidence to the Fiala Cabinet on the 96th day after the elections.