Prague, May 10 (CTK) – The policy statement of the planned government of the ANO movement and the Social Democratic Party (CSSD) wants to introduce a pension reform and a new income tax law, reinforce security, reject refugee quotas and promote Czech interests in the European Union.
The state administration should be moved online, high-speed Internet become available as much as possible and a strategical investment programme will be defined, according to the policy statement, the text of which is available to CTK.
In the EU, the government wants to fight tax havens and promote the development of nuclear energy. The government does not plan to adopt the euro as the Czech currency.
Within the pension reform, the pension account should be separated from the state budget. ANO and the CSSD plan to build more flats for young families and senior citizens, they want to speed up the construction of motorways and main roads and prepare the constructions of new units in nuclear power plants.
Investment incentives are to be exceptional, the state budget balanced and the financing of schools, hospitals and sport organisations follow clear rules. Self-sufficiency in energy and foods and the protection of mineral resources are to contribute to a higher security.
The government pledges to keep cooperating with trade unions and employers.
The ANO and CSSD negotiators agreed on the policy statement of their coalition government on Wednesday. As they will officially present it to their parties on Friday, they have not commented on it yet. The current version of the policy statement need not be final.
ANO and CSSD leaders, Andrej Babis and Jan Hamacek, agreed on the coalition pact of their parties on Monday. As ANO and the CSSD do not hold a majority in parliament, they reached agreement with the Communist Party (KSCM) that it would tolerate the government and help it win the confidence vote in the lower house.
The government policy statement is based on the policy statement of the ANO minority cabinet headed by Babis which lost the confidence vote in January and which will rule the country until the appointment of a new cabinet. Some CSSD priorities were incorporated in the text, such as the ban on privatisation of public services and state-controlled companies, a guarantee that direct healthcare payment by patients would not go up and some social benefits.
However, the policy statement does not include the estate duty and a special tax imposed on banks, which the Social Democrats demanded.
The CSSD members will decide on whether to form a coalition with ANO under the given conditions in a referendum that the party’s leadership is to declare on Friday and that is to last until early June.
