RPT-Czech parlt adjourns no-confidence motion

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The Czech parliament adjourned a no-confidence vote on the centre-right cabinet following nearly six hours of debate on Tuesday.

The chamber did not set a new date for the vote, but leftist opposition leader Jiri Paroubek said he would prefer Thursday morning, following a debate on the 2008 budget due on Wednesday.

The three-party coalition government, which controls just 100 seats in the 200-seat lower house, has often faced internal discord since its appointment in January but it is likely to survive the no-confidence motion.

The opposition would need 101 votes to topple the cabinet, and none of the government deputies have so far said he or she would back the motion.

The government has relied in key votes on two independent deputies, who are unlikely to vote for the cabinet's dismissal because they would stand little chance to return to parliament in case of an early election.

The opposition Social Democrats called the vote after the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek of the centrist Christian Democrat Party last month over corruption investigation that has since been halted. (Reporting by Petra Vodstrcilova; writing by Jan Lopatka; editing by Sami Aboudi)

Keywords: CZECH GOVERNMENT/VOTE

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]