ODS rebels to start negotiating with Czech PM Necas next week

He said he would not announce the demands of the package opponents before he sits down to the negotiating table with Prime Minister Petr Necas (ODS).

The six lawmakers´ voting with the opposition against the bill on Wednesday was responsible for that the Chamber of Deputies did not overrode the left-dominated Senate´s veto.

The government immediately submitted the unchanged bill today and linked it with a vote of confidence.

Tluchor said the six deputies are ready to support the package in the first reading when the government submits it again to the Chamber of Deputies and they will also support the shortening of deadlines of the legislative procedure.

However, in the final reading of the bill, with which the government has linked a confidence vote, the deputies will only vote for it if changes are made to the package.

"We will not be setting any ultimatums, no barriers that could not be surmounted. We want to start negotiating, to put the package into a state that will not harm the interests of the Czech Republic and that will at least partially be in harmony with the ODS programme and the government´s policy statement," Tluchor said.

He said the speculations about that the ODS deputies´ dissatisfaction was motivated by personal reasons, fears of investigation into the case of the IZIP electronic health books or ties to President Vaclav Klaus are an attempt at discrediting them.

Tluchor said he will not let himself be intimidated with such speculations.

He said there is a lot of various speculations. "I would like it very much if the prime minister dissociated himself from these anonymously spread slanders and lies," Tluchor said.

He would not say whether the dissatisfied ODS deputies will support the bill in the final reading when the future of Necas´s government will be at stake.

Tluchor said this will depend on whether agreement on changes to the bill is found.

He said the group of six dissatisfied deputies is not closed and that he talks to other ODS lawmaekrs about changes to the package as well.

Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek (TOP 09) says he would not like to change anything about the package.

Necas, for his part, has made it clear that changes can be made in the Chamber of Deputies as long as the whole government coalition reaches agreement on them.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz