What Czechia Is Writing About: Government Survives No-Confidence Vote, Budget Deficit at 386 Billion. Zůna Cancels 25-Billion Contract and Pavel Will Miss the Elections

Andrej Babiš's government survived the three-day extraordinary session of the Chamber of Deputies and the no-confidence vote, with only 83 opposition deputies voting for the cabinet's fall. Of the five matters we had been tracking since our article from September 4, two came true: the coalition closed the 2027 budget with a deficit of 386 billion crowns, and Prague introduced reciprocal measures against Russian diplomats. Three of the matters we were tracking found no support in Czech media. Meanwhile, new topics emerged: the Ministry of Defence cancelled a 25-billion contract, and President Pavel will miss the municipal elections. Deník N ↗

Budget: deficit fell by only a few billion

On September 21, the government approved the 2027 budget with a deficit of 386 billion crowns. Aktuality.sk called it the second-highest deficit in history, and TASR converted the deficit to nearly 16 billion euros. Aktuality.sk ↗ The original proposal, meanwhile, had envisioned a deficit of 389 billion, meaning the cuts that were negotiated reduced the deficit by only three billion.

Ekonomický deník summed up the negotiations by saying that the Motorists wanted 20 billion in cuts and only a fraction went through. Ekonomický deník ↗ The prime minister's coalition partner ultimately supported the budget. Vondra of ODS criticized them for this a week earlier, saying they want to hold on to their seats and "don't have the guts" to leave the government. iDNES.cz ↗ In an interview for iDNES, Macinka says that if people hate him, he's probably not doing anything wrong, and he is not happy about the deficit. iDNES.cz ↗

Deník N notes that calls for the Motorists to at least be the ones to fulfill their pre-election promises on state finances went unheeded. Meanwhile, the opposition did not show up in full force for the no-confidence vote, missing nine deputies, and only STAN had its full caucus present in the chamber. Deník N ↗

Russian diplomats: measures introduced, but their strictness is disputed

On September 23, Czechia introduced reciprocal measures against the movement of Russian diplomats. TASR ↗ The measure concerns the reporting of travel. Deník N also pointed out that Macinka is changing the rules for Russian diplomats but has been postponing the promised tightening for eight months already. Deník N ↗ We therefore consider the indicator on the publication of the specific form of the measures to have been met, although debate continues over whether this amounted to a real tightening.

Armored vehicles worth 25 billion: tender falls and everyone is looking for someone to blame

The Ministry of Defence, led by Jaromír Zůna, an SPD nominee, cancelled the tender for up to 185 MRAP-category armored vehicles for engineering units. The contract had been running for a year and a half, and the ministry will now have to announce it again. Deník N writes that the cancellation is an example of a weak spot in how some military contracts look in wartime. Deník N ↗ Černochová, a former defence minister, claims that Zůna was part of the innermost leadership of the General Staff at the time the project was being prepared. FORUM 24 ↗

The president who won't be voting

President Petr Pavel will not be in Czechia on October 9 and 10, and so he will miss the chance to vote in his home town of Černoučk. According to the Castle, this is a planning error that upsets him. Aktuálně.cz ↗ Babiš and Pavel met this week over a possible response to a Russian attack on one of the Baltic countries, a topic that the State Security Council is to address in mid-October. Seznam Zprávy ↗

Under the radar

According to Deník N, the coalition will not manage to abolish licence fees for Czech Television and Czech Radio by January, and they will likely fall under the state budget only from January 2028. Deník N ↗ Meanwhile, another court has ruled on SPD: in early September, the Prague Municipal Court cleared the movement of guilt in the case involving posters about "imported surgeons," stating in its reasoning that a democratic state must also tolerate a "tasteless" campaign. iROZHLAS ↗ This is not the same dispute with the Ministry of the Interior over the extremism report that we have been tracking.

What hotinfo is tracking