Changes

The country's highest court of appeal is the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court, which rules on constitutional issues, is appointed by the president. Its members serve 10-year terms.  

The country's highest court of appeal is the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court, which rules on constitutional issues, is appointed by the president. Its members serve 10-year terms.  

The June 2–3, 2006 general election resulted in the Chamber of Deputies' 200 seats being evenly divided 100-100 between three center-right parties and two parties on the left, with neither side able to form a majority government. The impasse led to months of protracted negotiations during which Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek formed a three-party coalition with the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Greens (SZ). The coalition lost its first vote of confidence 96-99 on October 4, 2006. But some seven months after the election, on January 19, 2007, the coalition succeeded in its second attempt when two renegade parliamentarians from the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) abstained.

The June 2–3, 2006 general election resulted in the Chamber of Deputies' 200 seats being evenly divided 100-100 between three center-right parties and two parties on the left, with neither side able to form a majority government. The impasse led to months of protracted negotiations during which Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek formed a three-party coalition with the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Greens (SZ). The coalition lost its first vote of [[confidence]] 96-99 on October 4, 2006. But some seven months after the election, on January 19, 2007, the coalition succeeded in its second attempt when two renegade parliamentarians from the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) abstained.

When the [[Berlin Wall]] fell in 1989 it meant that the Soviet Union was no longer in charge. The Communist satellite dictatorships of eastern Europe all fell in a matter of weeks—and Russia's collapsed in 1991. All the Communist parties of eastern Europe transformed themselves after 1989 into more mainstream center-left parties. One exception was in the Czech Republic where the Communist Party refused to undertake a comprehensive overhaul. It gained nearly 13% of the vote in the last parliamentary elections in 2006. Its supporters are mostly those fed up with politics as usual and regime nostalgics, many of them elderly pensioners, for whom life before 1989 seemed better than it does today.

When the [[Berlin Wall]] fell in 1989 it meant that the Soviet Union was no longer in charge. The Communist satellite dictatorships of eastern Europe all fell in a matter of weeks—and Russia's collapsed in 1991. All the Communist parties of eastern Europe transformed themselves after 1989 into more mainstream center-left parties. One exception was in the Czech Republic where the Communist Party refused to undertake a comprehensive overhaul. It gained nearly 13% of the vote in the last parliamentary elections in 2006. Its supporters are mostly those fed up with politics as usual and regime nostalgics, many of them elderly pensioners, for whom life before 1989 seemed better than it does today.