Last month, the Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Petr Nečas resigned after his chief of staff was charged with corruption and abuse of power. Seán Hanley writes that following the collapse of the Nečas government, the Czech Republic’s President, Miloš Zeman, has exploited the situation by attempting to impose a technocratic caretaker administration. He argues that Zeman’s move poses a fundamental challenge to the parliamentary character of Czech democracy

Hanley, Seán

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Miloš Zeman, Credit: David Sedlecký (CC-BY-SA-3.0)04/07/2013Miloš Zeman’s attempt to impose a caretaker government inthe Czech Republic is a fundamental challenge to Czechparliamentary democracy.blogs.lse.ac.uk /europpblog/2013/07/04/milos-zemans-attempt-to-impose-a-caretaker-government-in-the-czech-republic-is-a-fundamental-challenge-to-czech-parliamentary-democracy/Last month, the Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Petr Nečas resigned after his chief of staff was chargedwith corruption and abuse of power. Seán Hanley writes that following the collapse of the Nečasgovernment, the Czech Republic’s President, Miloš Zeman, has exploited the situation byattempting to impose a technocratic caretaker administration. He argues that Zeman’s move posesa fundamental challenge to the parliamentary character of Czech democracy.The collapse of the centre-right government of Czech prime minister Petr Nečas last month cameas little surprise. His coalition had struggled on for more than a year without a parliamentarymajority trying to push through an unpopular package of reforms and austerity measures thatdivided even its own MPs. Nor, in hindsight, was it surprising that Nečas was forced to resign in a corruptionscandal. Although by reputation a geekish ‘Mr Clean’, Nečas’s efforts to root out corruption in his own CivicDemocratic Party (ODS) and in wider political life proved patchy and ineffectual.The main talking points were how close the arrestscame to Nečas – the main accused is his former chef decabinet Jana Nagyová – and why Czech police andprosecutors had only now got their act together afteryears of suspicious inaction. Commentators speculatedthat the anti-corruption probe could open out into aCentral European version of Italy’s Clean Handsoperation in the early 1990s that brought down thewhole party-political establishment.Most commentators assumed, however, that in theinterim the coalition would limp on until scheduledelections in 2014 under the Civic Democrats’ stopgapleader Miroslava Němcová, or that the deadlock wouldbe broken by a cross-party vote to dissolve parliament.Attention shifted to the familiar ritual of party delegationsbeing called in for talks with the president, whoconstitutionally appoints the prime minister andinformally plays a brokering role in governmentformation.A de facto presidential governmentAt this point, however, the country’s recently electedpresident Miloš Zeman tore up the political script. Ratherthan allowing the outgoing coalition to prove its claimsthat it could win a vote of confidence by appointing MrsNěmcová prime minister (as right-wing parties wanted) or encouraging the parties to agree to dissolve parliament(as left-wing parties wanted), Mr Zeman unexpectedly opted for a third option: the appointment of a caretaker1/3‘government of experts’ under former finance minister Jiří Rusnok. Mr Rusnok, who was formally appointed primeminister on 25 June, is currently picking his cabinet.Technocratic caretaker administrations are nothing new in the Czech Republic. The country’s finely balanced partypolitics and high constitutional hurdles to calling early elections have seen them form following two previousgovernment collapses: in 1998 under Josef Tošovský and in 2009-10 under Jan Fischer.In both these cases, however, parliamentary support for technocratic administrations was carefully negotiatedbeforehand between parties of left and right. Indeed, as the then leader of the Social Democrats, Miloš Zeman wasdeeply involved in the 1998 negotiations. The Rusnok government, by contrast, has been appointed in the face ofopposition from all major parties and has virtually no parliamentary support. When it formally presents itself toparliament in the next month, it seems certain to lose a vote of confidence.This, however, may make little difference to president Zeman. The Czech constitution sets no time limits with whichthe president must appoint a new prime minister if his initial nominee fails win a vote of confidence. If Zemanchooses to sit on his hands, the Rusnok government could simply continue in office, possibly for months, as a‘government in resignation’ – or what some political scientists term a ‘continuation caretaker’ – until elections finallytake place. Although it would struggle to pass legislation, such a de facto presidential government could takeimportant executive decisions regarding the next budget, big infrastructure projects and the disbursement of EUfunds.A challenge to parliamentary democracyPresident Zeman justified the imposition of a technocratic government as the only way forward, given the inability ofparties to put together the three-fifths parliamentary majority needed to call early elections. The continuation of theunpopular centre-right government, Zeman argued, was unacceptable given his promises as a presidentialcandidate to ‘Stop the Nečas government’ and the risk that, if left in office, right-wing politicians would interfere inongoing anti-corruption investigations.However, there are indications that Zeman sees the Rusnok government as a longer term option, which couldcontinue until scheduled elections in 2014. He spoke approvingly of the economic success enjoyed in Belgium in2010-11 under long-running caretaker administration and argued that the Rusnok government would be legitimateeven if it failed to win parliamentary approval because it would be composed of politically neutral experts.Zeman has used his powers quite legally. However, equipped with a popular mandate that neither of his indirectlyelected predecessors enjoyed, Zeman has pushed the boundaries considerably further than either Václav Havel orVáclav Klaus. Even the much criticised Klaus – otherwise no slouch at exploiting constitutional loopholes –insistedthat any incoming government should have a clear prospect of gaining parliamentary approval. However Zeman’sactions flout the spirit of the constitution and may provoke a constitutional crisis. The Czech constitution frames thecountry’s political system as a parliamentary democracy, even making explicit reference (in Article 5) to theimportance of political parties.No holds barredThe entrenched status of parliamentarianism and the tough-minded independence of the Constitutional Courtsuggest that in the short term Miloš Zeman is unlikely to bend the Czech Republic’s parliamentary system into asemi-presidential form. The country’s main political parties may yet sink their differences and vote for early elections.Social Democrat leaders are even talking of amending the constitution to narrow the president’s scope to nominatethe prime minister. However, in the longer term Zeman’s political gamble may pay off. A prolonged spell oftechnocratic caretaker government may disrupt political business-as-usual, giving the president an opening topersuade public opinion that he is a popular champion fighting a corrupt and ineffective party establishmentSo far public reaction has been mixed. While technocratic governments in 1998 and 2009-10 enjoyed high approval2/3ratings, this time few voters seem convinced that the Rusnok government will be a team of selfless non-politicalexperts. Early indications are that most ministers will, like Rusnok himself, be former ministers in Zeman’s 1998-2002 Social Democrat administration or associates of the president. Polls suggest that voters are split down themiddle over Zeman’s actions, but that a very large majority prefer early elections.One thing does seem certain. While Václav Klaus devoted his presidency to fighting the EU, his successor seemsset on waging a no-holds-barred struggle for domestic power. It may yet reshape the Czech political landscape.Please read our comments policy before commenting .Note:  This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy, norof the London School of Economics.Shortened URL for this post: http://bit.ly/12dFRE9 _________________________________About the authorSeán Hanley – University College LondonSeán Hanley is Senior Lecturer in East European Politics at UCL. He recently presented a paper onearlier Czech experience of technocratic government at the 2013 EUSA conference. He also writesa personal academic blog on Czech and Central European politics.3/3

Miloš Zeman’s attempt to impose a caretaker government in the Czech Republic is a fundamental challenge to Czech parliamentary democracy.

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