Prime Minister Petr NeÄŤas’ cabinet has had one of the highest turnovers in the history of the Czech Republic. Since July 2010, 12 ministers have left, including the current departures of Defense Minister Alexander Vondra and Transport Minister Pavel Dobeš. Vondra is the last of the original five ministers from the Civic Democrats’ senior coalition party. Seven ministers from other coalition parties have also left the cabinet over the last two years. Radio Prague quotes NeÄŤas saying that this relatively high turnover actually sends a positive signal to voters. “It’s unlike in the case of previous governments or government members, when people held on to government seats in such a way as to create the impression that their backs were stuck to the seat in question,” NeÄŤas said. JindĹ™ich Ĺ Ădlo, a journalist and political commentator, disagreed, claiming the turnover was because of the infighting within NeÄŤas’s own party. While the government’s original majority in the Lower House has shrunk, officials have still succeeded to push through economic reforms and church restitutions. Ĺ Ădlo does not expect, however, that NeÄŤas’ government will survive much longer. Ĺ Ădlo predicts the Civic Democrats will lose big in the 2014 election.
