Final Word from Thursday, January 19, 2023
Last night's vote of no-confidence turned out as expected, with the government of Petr Fiala easily withstanding the attempt to topple it. There's a clearly defined ruling coalition in Parliament and a clearly defined opposition, and rarely shall the twain meet. At Prague city hall it's different. The parties that make up the national coalition (ODS, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09, STAN, Pirates) now have 37 of the 65 seats in the city assembly, but the Pirates still aren't sure they want to break with their local coalition partner, Jan Čižinský's Praha sobě, with 11 seats. ODS has nothing good to say about Čižinský and learned to work well over the past four years in the opposition with ANO, which now has 14 seats. ODS/Spolu is willing to give STAN and the Pirates a majority in the 11-seat city council, partly as a way to send the right signal to Petr Pavel's voters. But in the city assembly, the alternative majority of Spolu and ANO remains, and it will likely rear its head again once the presidential ballots are counted. [ Czech Republic Alliance for Prague match ]
Glossary of difficult words
to withstand - to resist; to remain undamaged or unaffected by;
to topple - to remove (a government or person in authority) from power; to overthrow;
never the twain shall meet - used to suggest that two things are too different to exist alongside each other;
to rear its head - (of an unpleasant matter) to present itself.