March 25 (Reuters) - The ousting of the Czech government
upped political nerves in the European Union's eastern members
on Wednesday. Hungary continued its search for a new
administration and its president said an early election would be
the best way forward.
Following are thumbnail sketches of Eastern Europe's
coalition governments and recent flashpoints:
* BULGARIA -- The poorest EU nation has been hit by protests
demanding the government shore up the economy although analysts
say accelerating public discontent ahead of an expected summer
election is unlikely to cause the government to fall.
-- Bulgaria's opposition right wing GERB party extended its
lead in a January Gallup poll over the ruling Socialists and is
expected to win the most votes in the election.
* CZECH REPUBLIC -- The Czech opposition Social Democrats
won a no-confidence vote on Tuesday on the centre-right
coalition of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek.
-- Topolanek said he should lead any new government, despite
losing the vote. President Vaclav Klaus has the sole right to
appoint a new prime minister and until then the three-party
coalition will remain in office, possibly until the end of its
EU presidency at the end of June.
-- The ousting could threaten Czech ratification of the EU's
Lisbon treaty and cast more doubt on an already sidelined plan
to build a U.S. missile defence radar system in the country.
-- Czech banks have been relatively unaffected by the global
financial crisis, but growth has been hit badly by deepening
recession in Western Europe, which has led to a sharp drop in
output and job losses in the key manufacturing sector.
* HUNGARY -- The Socialists want opposition backing to pass
a no-confidence vote in outgoing Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany
and approve the new prime minister in April, avoiding holding an
election which the main opposition party Fidesz would likely
win. Gyurcsany said last Saturday he was ready to step aside for
a new government to lead Hungary out of the economic crisis.
-- The Socialists are seeking agreement with opposition
parties, mainly the Free Democrats and the Democratic Forum, on
the new leader. The Socialists have ruled in a minority since
last April. The next general election is due in 2010.
-- Hungary sought a $25.1 billion IMF-led rescue package
last year to stave off financial crisis, after falls in its
forint currency had borrowers struggling to pay foreign currency
loans and endangered banks. Hungary's economy contracted by 2.3
percent in the fourth quarter of last year.
* LITHUANIA -- Police fired teargas in January to disperse
demonstrators who pelted parliament with stones in protest at
cuts in social spending to offset the slowdown.
-- The four-party centre-right coalition in office since
October has raised taxes and cut spending to shore up the budget
as revenues fell.
* POLAND -- The ruling centre-right Civic Platform led by
Prime Minister Donald Tusk is ahead of its rivals with 44
percent of Poles saying they would vote for it if an election
were held tomorrow. The next parliamentary election is not due
until 2011 unless the government holds an earlier vote.
* ROMANIA -- Parliament approved the 2009 budget on Feb. 20
earmarking more than 10 billion euros ($12.85 billion) to lessen
the pain of sharp economic slowdown with a consolidated deficit
target of 2 percent of gross domestic product, against the 5
percent shortfall recorded in 2008.
-- The International Monetary Fund agreed a 20 billion euro
aid package with Romania, including 12.9 euros of IMF money and
5 billion euros from the EU, on Wednesday.
-- Elections in November brought in a coalition of former
archrivals as the Social Democrat Party and Democrat-Liberal
party came neck and neck in the polls.
-- The government is expected to be strained by a
presidential election in November and suffered a blow in January
when the interior minister resigned after a row with coalition
partners over the appointment of an intelligence chief.
* SLOVAKIA -- Prime Minister Robert Fico won 2006 elections
promising to spend more on the poor. The government approved a
332 million euro stimulus plan in January aimed at easing the
impact of the economic slowdown.
-- Slovakia's unemployment rate rose to a 29-month high of
9.72 percent in February, as the euro zone's youngest member
felt the hit of economic crisis in its main export markets.
* UKRAINE -- The pro-Western "orange revolution" coalition
was reinstated last December with Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko still in situ, effectively ruling out for now the
prospects for a snap election.
-- Ukraine's political volatility predates the impact of the
financial crisis, which has savaged the steel and banking
sectors. Industrial output has shrunk by more than a third, the
worst drop in over a decade.
-- Ukraine has clinched a $16.4 billion loan deal with the
IMF to help offset the effects of the world financial crisis.
But the Fund has suspended release of the loan's second tranche
while discussions proceed on several issues, including the size
of the budget deficit.
(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)
