Czech parties end dispute, gov’t survives

Czech centre-right coalition parties have reached a deal to change some policies and the cabinet's makeup, saving the three-party government from possible collapse, a party chief said on Thursday.
The coalition had been threatened by months of infighting, especially demands by its smallest member, the centrist Public Affairs party, for more seats in the cabinet and funding for its preferred policies.
It had threatened to leave the cabinet if its demand for another ministerial seat was not met by the end of June, a move which would have erased the government's majority in parliament.
"We have agreed we will have four seats in the cabinet," news website www.idnes.cz quoted Public Affairs chairman Radek John as saying. "An agreement was reached in bilateral negotiations held outside the view of the media."
Political scientists had said the cabinet would probably survive the latest row, given that all the ruling parties have suffered a deep decline in public support over the past year and have no incentive to trigger an early election.
Despite the rows, the coalition has been able to push through its legislative agenda of fiscal and welfare reforms, including a rise in the retirement age and introduction of a fund-based pension savings pillar.
The government aims to cut the budget deficit to 3% of GDP in 2013 and zero by 2016.