UPDATE 1-Czech government survives no-confidence motion

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The Czech centre-right government on Wednesday survived a no-confidence motion initiated by the leftist opposition.

The three-party cabinet, which controls just 100 seats in the 200-seat lower house, has repeatedly faced internal discord since its appointment in January but the opposition gathered just 97 votes for its dismissal.

The opposition Social Democrats called the vote after the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek of the centrist Christian Democrats last month.

Cunek left under pressure from coalition partners due to allegations of bribe-taking when he was a mayor of an eastern Czech town in the 1990s, but the case has since been dropped.

The opposition hoped the affair opened cracks in the government ranks, but the coalition stuck together in the vote and also won the backing of two non-aligned deputies.

The centre-right government has pushed through tax cuts for richer Czechs and companies and cut welfare in a reform aimed at cutting the public budget gap to 2.95 percent of gross domestic product next year from 3.4 percent expected this year.

The parliament is due to vote on the 2008 budget later on Wednesday.

The crown currency was flat after the vote at 26.235 to the euro, in sight of all-time high of 26.200 seen last week. (Reporting by Petra Vodstrcilova;writing by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

Keywords: CZECH GOVERNMENT/

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]