Czech parties agree on draft goverment coalition

The Czech Social Democrats (CSSD), ANO and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) agreed on a coalition agreement after solving all persisting points of controversy in negotiations late on Tuesday, and the pact will be signed on Thursday and disclosed on Friday, said CSSD chairman Bohuslav Sobotka on Wednesday. Sobotka is supposed to head the coalition cabinet. He said that the parties' position differed mainly in the areas of taxes and health care. Taxes could be changed as from 2015 at the earliest. The coalition reached an agreement on abolishing the regulatory fees patients pay for a visit to a doctor and for a medical prescription, the financial gap will be compensated by the Health Ministry's new directive setting the prices of treatment. The coalition will reintroduce a tax relief for working pensioners and also to gradually increase the minimum wage to bring it close to 40 percent of the country's average wage, a measure of preventing the abuse of the tax system by some self-employed people who do not pay taxes over alleged permanent business losses will also be introduced. Chairman of ANO deputies' group Jaroslav Faltynek said the coalition will follow the path of money saving. Sobotka said they will start negotiations about the division and personnel filling of ministries after the parties approve the pact's programme part each on its leadership level, then he will submit a proposal for the cabinet's appointment to President Milos Zeman by the end of the year. The CSSD won Czech general election in October 2013, with entrepreneur Andrej Babis's ANO movement took the second place. The centrist minor parties KDU-CSL re-entered the Chamber of Deputies after three years. The three parties command 111 votes in the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies.