OSW Commentary - Fiala’s government halfway through its term: security reinforcement overshadowed by economic problems

The successes The energy sector Improving the country’s energy security is one of the greatest achievements of the Fiala cabinet at the halfway point of its term. [...] Presidency of the Council of the European Union The successful Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2022 was, un- doubtedly, one of the Fiala government’s achievements. [...] It was also important that sup- The smooth running of the presidency of the Coun- port for Ukraine retained a high cil of the EU helped the Czech Republic improve priority on Brussels’ agenda, while its image, which had been tarnished during the Prague’s hosting of the first sum- previous EU presidency in 2009. [...] During the Covid pandemic in 2020–1 (when the previous coalition was still in power), the budget deficit as a percentage of GDP was the highest since the establishment of the Czech Republic in 1993 largely due to emergency expenditure (though it still was not among the most largest in the EU – in 2021, ten other member states had larger budget shortfalls). [...] The second-largest party in the coalition, the centrist STAN (Mayors and Independents), sees the halfway point of the government’s term as an opportune moment to distance itself from the rest of the coalition parties.