Last Monday’s papers were full of headlines declaring the end of the three-party coalition government was nigh. The conflict was indeed bitter, but the “gruesome end” of which TOP 09’s leader Karel Schwarzenberg spoke didn’t occur. Intensive negotiations between ODS and VV leaders took place from Monday through Thursday — without the participation of TOP 09 — alongside separate talks between PM Petr Nečas (ODS) and VV leaders. The result was an amendment to the coalition agreement, signed by the party leaders on June 30.

The fragile three-party Czech coalition government will meet to try and solve a simmering row over the share out of ministerial posts on Tuesday. The smallest party, Public Affairs (VV), wants more representation in the Cabinet after its numbers were cut but it’s not clear where places can be freed up by its grudging partners. VV’s threat to leave the governemnt and deprive it of a majority still lurks in the background.

The recent Cabinet shuffle has done little to restore the public’s confidence — and the vast majority of respondents think a new crisis might not be far off, according to SANEP. Few people said they felt the government would last its full term, and a majority still favors new elections to put an end to the current problems. Among the three coalition parties, the ODS was trusted the least by poll respondents.

The three-way center-right coalition government rallied its MPs to easily defeat a no-confidence vote called by the main oppostion party, the Social Democrats  (ČSSD), but still looks vulnerable with relations soured between the governing parties