Motorists Party Backs Down on Its Promises: Budget with a 386-Billion Deficit and a One-Off Payment for Pensioners

On Monday, the Czech government approved a draft budget for next year with a deficit of CZK 386 billion — the second-largest deficit in the country's history. All ministers voted in favour, including representatives of the Motorists party, which had promised voters before the election to balance the budget within four years and to "keep ANO leader Andrej Babiš in check."

The party fought to the end to push the deficit down, but managed to secure only a token concession. "I'm very glad we managed to agree on cutting the deficit by three billion crowns," Sports Minister Boris Šťastný of the Motorists commented on the outcome. Vladimír Pikora, chairman of the budget committee and also a Motorists MP, called it "a success under the circumstances," arguing that without the Motorists in government, the deficit would have been even higher.

Pensioners get a bonus payment above the legal minimum

Beyond failing to cut spending, the Motorists also lost the battle over pensions. By law, pensions are due to be indexed by CZK 270 a month, and the party considered that sufficient. "The valorisation mechanism is properly calibrated and ensures pensions rise in line with inflation and wages — that's fair, and anything beyond that is simply extra debt," Pikora said.

But for ANO, whose core voter base includes pensioners, that wasn't enough. In the end, the government agreed on an additional one-off payment to pensioners of CZK 2,000. "This is immediate, tangible support that will make a real difference for most pensioners," said Labour Minister Aleš Juchelka of ANO.

According to estimates, the one-off payment for old-age pension recipients alone will cost the budget around CZK 4.7 billion; including disability and survivor's pensions, the total rises to CZK 5.6 billion.

A promise to save money later

Motorists MPs from the ruling coalition declined to say whether they would back a budget in parliament that contradicts their own programme. The only coalition MP to publicly oppose the draft was Miroslav Ševčík of SPD, who suggested he might not vote for the plan unless the deficit is reduced.

The Motorists defend their position by arguing the real deficit will end up smaller than announced: the coalition has promised to adopt measures this year that would cut the 2027 budget deficit by CZK 20 billion. Party chairman and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka insists this figure is not "cosmetic," though details remain scarce — among the examples he cited were cracking down on the illegal gambling market and blocking payments to illegal operators.

At the same time, the coalition plans to increase state contributions for state-insured persons by at least CZK 15 billion this autumn, while Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is preparing new education spending — including CZK 4 billion for merged schools and CZK 300 million for extra teacher hours dedicated to preventive work, even though the budget currently contains no funding for this.

Additional deficit pressure could also come from the planned abolition of licence fees, with funding for public media shifted to the state budget, as well as from the expansion of certain tax breaks. The cabinet has confirmed that households and businesses will continue paying the renewable energy surcharge. The Motorists are refusing to raise taxes except in minor cases — Minister Macinka, for instance, indicated he would accept a higher excise tax on tobacco and nicotine products, but opposes any increase in income tax. The party has promised its voters a CZK 60-billion deficit reduction by 2028 — though, according to Macinka, its limited political weight within the coalition prevents it from achieving more for now.

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Source: seznamzpravy.cz