CZECH ELECTIONS: IMPASSE UNBROKEN BUT TWO MAIN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000771 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/NCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EZ SUBJECT: CZECH ELECTIONS: IMPASSE UNBROKEN BUT TWO MAIN PARTIES SLOWLY GRAVITATING TOWARDS EACH OTHER REF: PRAGUE 737 PRAGUE 00000771 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Five weeks after Czech general elections resulted in a draw, the winning party, the right-of-center Civic Democrats (ODS),has yet to form a coalition government. The current Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, whose left-of-center Social Democrats (CSSD) came in second, is using various means to delay or prevent the formation of a coalition government that does not include him, other members of his party, and some of his party's programs. Progress towards the installation of a new government has up to now been held up by the new parliament's inability to elect new leadership, including the Speaker, Deputy Speakers, and Committee Chairs. Only then can the proposed 100-seat coalition of the Civic Democrats (ODS),the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Greens (SZ) try to win the confidence of the 200-seat assembly, which looks increasingly unlikely. Two attempts to elect a Speaker have failed. A four-party coalition of everyone but the Communists was proposed by ODS, but this idea also gained no traction. In the end, the most likely way out of the stalemate could be some pragmatic arrangement between the two main parties, ODS and CSSD, which would be bad news for the country's smaller parties, but should allow strong U.S.-Czech relations to continue. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The ODS/KDU-CSL/SZ Coalition suffered a humiliating defection during secret-ballot voting on the new Speaker of Parliament June 29. During the voting on the candidacy of ODS MP Miroslava Nemcova, one coalition deputy changed sides. CSSD, in a clever if undemocratic move, maintained its own party discipline by instructing its deputies to abstain and to show their unused ballots to the party leadership. As expected, the Communists voted against Nemcova. ¶3. (SBU) Finger-pointing over the anonymous defection received widespread press coverage, with some notable attention focused on outgoing FM Cyril Svoboda (KDU-CSL), because his political preferences are more to the left than those of his party leader Miroslav Kalousek. Svoboda defended himself publicly, claiming that he had shown Kalousek his marked ballot during the second round. The suspicions surrounding Svoboda are understandable as he and Kalousek are rivals for the party leadership. Kalousek has pulled the party from its centrist kingmaker role to being an unambiguous ally of the right-of-center ODS. If, after failing to form a coalition with KDU-CSL, ODS now turns to CSSD to arrange some form of a partnership government, Kalousek will suffer. MAYBE THEY SHOULD TRY PENALTY SHOTS? ¶4. (U) On July 7, The coalition tried again, this time putting forward KDU-CSL Deputy Chairman Jan Kasal as the candidate for Speaker. He too failed in two separate votes, one of which again featured a defection by a member of the proposed coalition. During the first week in July, Communist Party (KSCM) Deputy Chairman Jiri Dolejs suggested that parliament's oldest member, 77 year-old law professor Zdenek Jicinsky (CSSD) be temporarily made Speaker until Parliament held its vote of confidence on the proposed three-party coalition. That would at least break the deadlock and let Parliament begin its work. After initially rejecting the idea, the coalition accepted it on July 10. But Jicinsky rejected the idea on July 11, which means it is unlikely to go forward. ¶5. (U) A July 4 meeting of all five parties of the parties in Parliament failed to break the impasse, with the Social Democrats refusing to accept a deal that would give them the position of Speaker in exchange for their support for the ODS-KDU-Green coalition. Paroubek wants CSSD to get the Speaker's post because the Speaker gets to nominate the person to make the third and final attempt to form a government, if the first two efforts fail. A CSSD speaker would potentially give Paroubek a chance to try to form a minority CSSD government. The next attempt to elect a Speaker could come as early as Friday, July 14. ¶6. (U) On Monday, July 10, ODS Chair Topolanek made an unexpected overture, asking Paroubek and CSSD to join what would be a rainbow, four-party coalition. But Paroubek is known to prefer an arrangement with ODS that cuts out the two smaller parties, the Christian Democrats and the Greens, whom he dislikes. In addition, on July 10 ODS MEP and shadow foreign minister Jan Zahradil announced that the party is shelving plans to join British MEPS in the formation of a new PRAGUE 00000771 002.2 OF 002 eurosceptic bloc in the European parliament. Zahradil said the move was taken to prevent the formation of the new group from conflicting with coalition talks in Prague. The move is being seen by some in Prague as a gesture by ODS, since strong relations with the EU has long been one of the things CSSD requires from its partners. ¶7. (U) COMMENT: For most Czechs, summer holidays and weather are more likely topics for discussion than politics. Even the new parliamentarians, who have been drawing salaries since June 3 and have yet to discuss a single piece of legislation, feel little sense of urgency. So far, most of the negotiations have been relatively transparent and inclusive, and have been covered well in the media. It is difficult to say how much longer the negotiations will last, as the Czech constitution doesn't give deadlines for many of the steps taken to form new coalitions. There is also little historical precedent to go by. After each of the elections since the constitution went into effect in 1993, governments have been formed on the first try. If the talks do drag on, as many observers predict they will, the political uncertainty could make it difficult for the government to reach any high-level decisions this summer. However, it is worth noting that the Czech Crown, which last year strengthened more than any other currency in the world, largely because of the inflow of long term capital, particularly from foreign direct investment, seems unaffected so far. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT CONTINUED: There is a certain mathematical inevitability to an arrangement between ODS and CSSD. Although bitter rivals, they are the only two parties that can form a majority coalition. ODS will continue to try to form a center-right three-party coalition and almost certainly fail. Paroubek will do all he can to block the attempt and force negotiations on a government, perhaps a caretaker government of experts, or some form of a grand coalition, that includes CSSD personnel and programs. In that case, both parties would have to make some compromises on their policies, though they could agree to make changes to the electoral system that would benefit the larger parties. If CSSD gets the Speaker's post, it will give Paroubek more leverage in his talks with Topolanek. In the end, Paroubek hasn't relinquished his hopes of forming a minority CSSD government, and if the defections on the votes for the Speaker's position are anything to go by, there could be enough votes for him to succeed. A pragmatic arrangement between ODS and CSSD will cut out the smaller parties, but leave the current strong ties between the U.S. and the Czech Republic unchanged. A CSSD minority government is still something of a long shot and would likely result in weaker, though still positive bilateral ties than an ODS-CSSD government. END COMMENT. CABANISS