Government MPs Force Surprise Vote on Media Funding Shift, Opposition Decries Procedure

In a night-time session, government MPs unexpectedly approved the first reading of a proposal that would shift the financing of two public media outlets onto the state budget. Prime Minister Petr Fiala, speaking on a Friday evening program, rejected opposition accusations that the coalition ignored a pre-arranged agenda, arguing the surprise was necessary to prevent a parliamentary deadlock. He also defended the decision to allow multiple two-hour breaks, saying it would otherwise delay the vote until January.

TOP 09 chairman Matěj Ondřej Havel denounced the maneuver as a violation of long-standing parliamentary norms, labeling it a dismantling of the chamber’s functioning. SPD leader Tomio Okamura cited an earlier Constitutional Court verdict to explain the timing, while opposition members pointed out that the vote started with fewer than the required 65 registered deputies and that speaking time was heavily curtailed.