CZECH GOVERNMENT; FIRST 100 DAYS - NO HONEYMOON,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRAGUE 000471 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/NCE EFICHTE E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL EZ SUBJECT: CZECH GOVERNMENT; FIRST 100 DAYS - NO HONEYMOON, UNCERTAIN PROSPECTS REF: PRAGUE 359 Classified By: Political-Economic Counselor Mission Michael Dodman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. SUMMARY (C) The three-party coalition led by Mirek Toplanek (ODS),which marked its 100th day in power April 30, is facing several internal conflicts that threaten its long-term survival, though collapse or early elections are not imminent. One simmering threat is a bitter dispute over Jiri Cunek, a Deputy Prime Minister and chair of the Christian Democrats. A second, more serious problem is the possible failure of reform legislation which could be tied to the question of confidence in the government. In that scenario it is even possible that Topolanek and his party will try to get parliament dissolved and have new elections called. Topolanek has not yet faced any difficult votes in Parliament, so it is too early to predict whether he will rise to the challenge. The way in which the government might fall will also determine the method and timing of picking the next government, making it difficult to predict a successor at this point. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) The current ruling coalition, consisting of the Civic Democrats (ODS),the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Greens (SZ),was never going to be a robust government. It began to rule with only 100 of parliament's 200 seats. It only survived its vote of confidence because two members of the left-of-center Social Democrats, Milos Melcak and Michal Pohanka, quit the party and abstained in the vote. It was also clear right from the start that the two junior partners, the Christian Democrats and the Greens, had significant differences. With Topolanek needing the vote of every coalition member, any disunity is a problem. ¶3. (U) The first sign of dissent within the coalition emerged when Jiri Cunek, who was promoted from small town Mayor to Senator and KDU-CSL party chair in the fall of 2006, was stripped of his immunity and indicted on charges of receiving a bribe in February. Cunek later compounded his problems by making racist statements about the nation's Roma minority, which played well with some segments of the Czech public, but further angered his coalition partners the Greens, who had campaigned on behalf of ethics in government, as well as equal rights for minorities. Martin Bursik, party �00A;chair of the Greens, demanded Cunek either resign or be dismissed by Topolanek. Bursik's party initially threatened to leave the coalition and bring down the government if Cunek stays, an ultimatum the Greens have since backed away from. Cunek's party has held several meetings to discuss the issue and has consistently, though not unanimously, backed him. Toplanek has also said that the time for Cunek to leave has come, though Topolanek also says that he will not force Cunek to leave if such a move would threaten the coalition. ¶4. (SBU) Though Topolanek is not fond of Cunek, a weakly-led, undemanding junior partner is in Topolanek's interest. Moreover, the Christian Democrats are split into two camps and have nobody who can replace Cunek and unite the party. So Topolanek has mixed feelings and the Christian Democrats don't want to force a resolution at all. In fact, the Christian Democrats are threatening to leave the coalition if Cunek is forced out. But the Greens have publicly demanded Cunek's resignation too many times, most recently in a formal resolution by the party's executive council on April 14, to just drop the issue and so the stalemate goes on, at least for the time being. ¶5. (C) A less urgent, though potentially more damaging rift could grow out of the coalition's attempt to pass legislation reforming taxes, health care and public finance, a bill that Topolanek has said he will link with the issue of confidence (Reftel). The Czech Constitution, in Article 35 b, states that "The President can dissolve parliament if it fails to act within 90 days on a bill to which the government links the question of confidence." The government expects to bring the reform package to parliament in June, meaning the government could fall by September, if this plan is carried out. In some respects, the use of key legislation to trigger early elections has been Topolanek's plan B all along. On January 20, the day after Topolanek's government narrowly won its vote of confidence, he stated in an interview that, "When we will no longer be able to push through our reform program, or reform steps, we will try to call early elections, to let people decide for a second time what the political situation should be." President Klaus also refered to the January 19 vote of confidence as "The first step on the road to early PRAGUE 00000471 002 OF 003 elections." ODS parliamentarian Jan Schwippel told post April 23 that he isn't sure whether ODS will succeed in keeping the measure off the agenda for 90 days. His fear is not only that some coalition members object to parts of the reform package, but that some coalition members, particularly Christian Democrats, don't want to face early elections and risk the possibility of losing their jobs and will therefore try to get the issue back on the agenda. ¶6. (C) There are already strong indications that Topolanek's reform package is in trouble. Vlastimil Tlusty, the Finance Minister in Topolanek's first government, previously ODS shadow finance Minister and author of most of the party's fiscal policies over the last decade, has criticized the reforms as too weak and said he might not support the legislation. A handful of other ODS members have said they will follow Tlusty's lead. Tlusty has promised to introduce his own reform package and Topolanek has said he might consider certain elements of it. Meanwhile, at least two coalition members from the Christian Democrats have indicated their possible opposition on the grounds that the reforms go too far in some areas and would hurt expectant mothers and families with children. Political scientist Vladimira Dvorakova also told post April 6 that she thinks the coalition is unstable and might not last. Dvorakova argues that the two renegade CSSD MPs who helped Topolanek through his vote of confidence, Melcak and Pohanka, are rather left-leaning and might have trouble supporting the reform package. She said Topolanek is "taking a big risk" by tying the reform package to the question of confidence. She feels Topolanek's strategy is that people within the coalition, who have reservations about the proposal, won't allow their party to fall from power, while people in the opposition won't want to risk new elections and a possible loss of parliamentary perks. But, she added "nobody can say for certain what will happen." ¶7. (C) Issues such as economic reforms, and even the proposal to site part of a U.S. missile defense system on Czech soil, are not only putting strains on the coalition itself, but are unpopular with the majority of the Czech public, giving opposition parties higher numbers in recent polls and possibly leaving them more inclined to accept early elections. Topolanek is already taking steps to gain support for his economic reforms and for the missile defense base from among members of the opposition Social Democrats. Deals can perhaps be made on certain issues. But with so many deals required, and with Topolanek's political capital so low to begin with, many observers are publicly asking, "How long can the government last"? Pollster and political analyst Jan Hartl said April 19 that Topolanek's first 100 days were bad and the future will be even worse. A second pollster and analyst, Jan Herzmann, told post April 6th that he thinks political instability is an inevitable feature of the current system and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future, unless changes are made to electoral rules. Herzmann points out that there have been four Prime Ministers in the last five years and there is no reason to conclude that Topolanek will last significantly longer than any of his predecessors. ¶7. (C) Former Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek has already announced that he expects early elections within 12 to 18 months and is starting his electoral campaign. Paroubek himself is at something of a low point, after receiving only 60% of the support of his own party when he ran unopposed for Chairmanship at the recent annual party congress. But he may sense an opportunity now with his main rival, Topolanek, so closely associated with unpopular issues such as the coalition's unprogressive tax reforms, reforms in health care that would introduce patient payments, the missile defense base, and the Cunek scandal. ¶8. (C) COMMENT Nobody is predicting the imminent fall of the Topolanek government. A more likely scenario is one in which the government simply limps along ineffectively for the time being, speaking of sweeping reforms and bold initiatives, but unable to carry them out. But if this government were to end, there are too many variables unknown at this time to make any predictions about possible outcomes. If the government falls because one of the junior partners leaves, the President would appoint someone, presumably from ODS, to try and form a new government. Herzmann predicts that in this case, Topolanek will be replaced by Prague Mayor and ODS Deputy Chair Pavel Bem. Other analysts believe the Civic Democrats may choose a new leader from outside Prague. In this scenario, one possibility is a grand coalition between ODS and CSSD that could lead CSSD to support the missile defense PRAGUE 00000471 003 OF 003 proposal. CSSD began initial contacts on possible participation in the missile defense system while in power, but then began to voice concerns about the matter after going into the opposition. If, on the other hand, the government were to end because legislation linked to the question of confidence wasn't acted on for 90 days, the President could call early elections within 60 days. Current polls show ODS winning over CSSD, but by a decreasing margin of only 4%-5%. The Green Party would likely be the biggest winner of early elections, possibly doubling or even tripling its number of seats. In general, the left-right split (ODS & KDU-CSL vs CSSD & KSCM) that characterized the June, 2006, elections would continue, with the Greens holding the balance of power. The Greens are still going through something of an identity crisis, having recently made the jump from coffee house environmental movement to mainstream political party. It's hard to say whether another election campaign might not force the party back towards it roots. The Christian Democrats would likely lose some seats and come in 5th, just above the 5% threshold needed for entry to parliament. END COMMENT GRABER