Final Word from Thursday, July 20, 2023

Of the Pirates' four MPs, 100% voted yesterday to ratify the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the U.S., compared to 86% of TOP 09's MPs, 83% of KDU-ČSL's, 76% of ODS's, 73% of STAN's, 42% of ANO's and 0% of SPD's. The final vote was 115 in favor and 18 against, with 11 abstentions, 47 excused absences and nine unexcused absences. Whether intentional or not, ANO's lawmakers voted in such a way that the DCA passed, but without a constitutional majority of 120 votes. This theoretically leaves the door open for a constitutional complaint on the grounds that the treaty transfers some sovereignty and should therefore require 120 votes for passage. ANO's top leadership (Andrej Babiš, Karel Havlíček, Alena Schille­rová, Richard Brabec, Radek Vondráček) voted Yes, whereas those in its second line were divided. If nothing unusual happens, ANO can tout itself as a responsible democratic party that cooperates with its allies. If the U.S. instead has grand plans that no one knows about and tries to use the DCA to drag the CR directly into war, ANO will be well-positioned to deal one way or another with that as well. [ Czech Republic United States Ukraine Russia Parliament House ratification ]