Critics decry 'legislative emergency'

After defeat at the hands of the opposition Social Democrats (ČSSD) in recent Senate elections, the center-right governing coalition is scrambling to push as much of its agenda as possible through Parliament's upper chamber before officially losing its majority Nov. 14.

This includes, but is not limited to, declaring a state of legislative emergency, a measure usually reserved for times of natural disaster, severe economic shock and war.

Political analysts say this constitutional maneuver may backfire on the three-party right-of-center governing coalition, led by the Civic Democrats (ODS) and junior coalition partners TOP 09 party and Public Affairs (VV).

"The government parties really didn't do very well in the Senate elections," said Jiří Pehe, a political analyst and director of New York University in Prague. "After this push to get reforms approved, we may see some introspection, maybe even panic, in some of the government parties."

Sobotka     

Prime Minister Petr Nečas (ODS) turned to this unorthodox method to push through measures meant to keep the state budget deficit below 135 billion Kč in 2011. He argued that delays to approving these measures met the threshold requiring a state of emergency, and asked Chamber of Deputies Speaker Miroslava Němcová (ODS) to declare the legislative emergency, which allows proposals to pass in an accelerated manner.

Němcová granted her approval Oct. 29, with the state of emergency running from Nov. 1 to Nov. 15. This is likely enough time for the chamber to push through austerity measures that under normal circumstances could take months - in particular with opposition in the ČSSD-led Senate - to pass in a matter of weeks.

Nečas insists this is the only way to avert major damage to the state budget, but critics say this is an attempt to subvert the will of the voters expressed in Senate elections before the new senators can take their seats.

"The Social Democrats consider the government's declaration of a state of legislative emergency a completely calculated and unfounded step," Bohuslav Sobotka, acting leader of the ČSSD, told The Prague Post. "The government is trying to cover up the inability of its ministers to devise an appropriate and timely proposal for new budget legislation and is pushing through its unlawful measures with force, without a sensible discussion with the opposition and the public."

Pehe agrees that a state of legislative emergency should not apply in this case.

"The law is quite clear on it: It says this measure should only be used in cases when human rights and liberties of citizens are threatened," he said, "or when there is a threat to national security or a threat of large economic losses to the country, none of which really apply in this case. So this clause is quite clearly being abused by the ruling coalition."

Nečas himself was at first hesitant to declare a state of legislative emergency, but changed his mind after it became clear the opposition would not approve government austerity measures, including changes to income tax laws and cuts to social benefits for families.

"I needed to be sure the Social Democrats would really block the laws from being passed quickly," Nečas said, explaining his change of heart to journalists. "I also wanted to be absolutely sure that all these laws need to have taken effect by the beginning of next year to prevent great economic losses."

Three days before the state of legislative emergency was declared, the Senate also voted on a government proposal to increase the number of Czech soldiers deployed in Afghanistan to 720 next year, with 57 of the Senate's 81 members voting in favor of it. This troop surge has also been a controversial topic opposed by some members of the Social Democrats.

"They wanted to get this done while they have a majority in the Senate," Pehe said. "There's nothing unconstitutional about this; it is just a question of their political culture."

Pehe says the government's tendency to push through its reforms at all costs is problematic and says such an approach can have future repercussions.

"The government has once again demonstrated that basically, they do not care how things get approved, whether they have real majority support," he said. "This is unfortunate, because if elections show you are in a very shaky position and the public mood is turning against you, you should try to discuss a measure like this more broadly with the opposition and convince them it is the right thing to do. Quite frankly, they could have taken that approach."

The left-leaning opposition will most likely take advantage of its newly gained leverage and its majority in the Senate in the presidential elections scheduled to take place in 2013, Pehe added. In addition, the opposition now has a chance of being heard, thanks to its majority in the Senate, Parliament's upper chamber, he said.

Sarah Borufka can be reached at
sborufka@praguepost.com