Politics Czech Republic: Government survives vote of no confidence over Bitcoin affair

SDA

18.6.2025 - 22:02

ARCHIVE - Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, speaks at a press conference. Photo: -ulová Kateøina/CTK/dpa/Archive image
ARCHIVE - Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, speaks at a press conference. Photo: -ulová Kateøina/CTK/dpa/Archive image
Keystone

Around three and a half months before the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, the liberal-conservative head of government Petr Fiala has survived a vote of no confidence. On Wednesday evening in Prague, 94 MPs from the opposition parties voted to dismiss the cabinet. The required majority of 101 votes in the 200-member lower house was therefore not achieved.

Keystone-SDA

The opposition had sought a vote of no confidence due to a Bitcoin affair, which has already led to the ousting of a minister. The Ministry of Justice recently accepted a gift from a convicted criminal - in the form of Bitcoin worth the equivalent of almost 40 million euros. The opposition then claimed that the crypto treasure could have come from dirty or even illegal transactions such as drug deals.

Since the Pirates were kicked out, the governing coalition has consisted of the four liberal and conservative parties ODS, KDU-CSL, TOP09 and STAN. The latest polls predict that the right-wing populist opposition party ANO, led by billionaire and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis, will win the elections in October. ANO works together with the Austrian FPÖ and Viktor Orban's Hungarian Fidesz at EU level.