Prague - The Czech lower chamber approved the draft 2014 government budget today in a 133-33 vote (the lower chamber has 200 seats). Earlier on Friday, the lawmakers decided to vote on the bill in a fast-track procedure, as proposed by the budgetary committee.
The draft budget was prepared by the outgoing technocratic government of Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok. Rusnok and Finance Minister Jan Fischer presented the budget to the lawmakers. The draft budget projects a deficit of CZK 112 billion (EUR 4.1 billion), which is around 3 percent of Czech GDP and CZK 7 billion more than what was proposed by a previous draft. According to Fisher, this increase and the draft budget in general reflect the current shape of the Czech economy, fiscal policy, tax system and falling tax collection after five years of stagnation.
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During the parliamentary debate, Rusnok and various lawmakers warned against the risk of a provisional budget in case the draft 2014 government budget was not approved.
"This budget, and it is necessary to say this, is the budget of Mr Kalousek and Mr Fischer," said CSSD lawmaker Jan Mladek in reference to Finance Minister Jan Fischer and his predecessor Miroslav Kalousek (TOP 09).
The CSSD won the late-October general election and is currently engaged in talks on a new coalition government with ANO 2011 and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL). These parties voted for the budget.
The right-wing Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and TOP 09, which formed the previous government of Petr Necas from 2010 to July 2013, voted against the draft budget. "It is the highest expenditure framework ever proposed," said ODS lawmaker Zbynek Stanjura.
Originally it was expected that TOP 09 would try to block the vote, but this has proven not to be the case today.
The CSSD and ANO 2011 have also complained about the draft budget's expenses. The CSSD plans to cut CZK 20 billion from the budget of ministries.
In an interview with journalists, ANO 2011 leader Andrej Babis said that he considered Miroslav Kalousek an "organized crime head." Kalousek, currently a TOP 09 lawmaker, responded by saying that Babis, billionaire owner of the Agrofert food holding, was a "godfather" and as minister he would be in a "total conflict of interest".
