An election held to resolve months of
uncertainty in the Czech Republic has failed to produce a clear winner. With
all the ballots counted, the Social Democrats have the most votes - just over
20% - but they do not have enough to form a government alone. Analysts say the
result could pave the way for another unstable coalition, with the second-placed
ANO party in a powerful bargaining position. The election has come after months
of political turmoil. The centre-right government of Petr Necas was brought
down by a corruption scandal in June. If ever there was a textbook Pyrrhic
victory, this was it. After seven years in opposition, after seven months of
vertigo-inducing opinion poll results, the Social Democrats finished on just
20.45%. No wonder the mood at Social Democrat headquarters was subdued - you'd
think they'd lost these elections, not won them, and in a sense, they have. Some
believe party leader Bohuslav Sobotka will resign within days. The real victor
was the Slovak-born billionaire Andrej Babis, whose centrist ANO party
campaigned against corruption and for change. His second place showing is simply
astonishing, and can be read as the voters' resounding verdict on the
established political parties. He is being coy about a possible coalition with
the Social Democrats - as kingmaker, he can dictate the terms. So what lies
ahead for this Central European nation of 10 million? Almost certainly not a
minority Social Democrat government propped up by the political pariahs, the
Communists. That ship has sailed. Instead weeks - maybe months - of arduous
coalition talks. The country has been without a proper administration ever
since - and is currently being governed by a caretaker cabinet of
technocrats.
Tough talks ahead - Correspondents say that this election is
likely be followed by weeks of difficult negotiations. The BBC's Rob Cameron, in
Prague, says the Social Democrats had hoped to win enough to run the country if
they were supported or at least tolerated by the Communists. But even together,
they do not have enough votes to form a government, he says. That opens the way
for arduous talks on forming a coalition with some of the other parties in
parliament. Social Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka admitted the results of
the election were "not what we expected,'' but he told reporters he was ready to
start negotiations with all parties. Our correspondent says the real winner in
this election is second-placed ANO, a new centrist party which campaigns against
corruption and is run by a food and agriculture billionaire.
No comments:
Post a Comment