The Czech Senate will now be dominated by the Social Democrats (ČSSD) and the Communists (KSČM), according to last weekend’s election results. The new arrangement seems certain to complicate the center-right government’s efforts to push through its unpopular austerity reforms. Analysts, however, say the success of the left-wing parties will not directly impact the economy.
Pavel Sobíšek of UniCredit Bank claims the left’s constitutional majority would only be important if the same results were achieved in the Lower House, as that is where the real decision making gets done.
“The left’s win in the Senate will further polarize parliament. The right-wing government will be proposing many unpopular reform steps and the opposition left will be scoring political points vetoing them,” said David Marek, chief economist at Patria Finance.
