Czechs Vote in `Referendum' on Austerity That May Weaken Cabinet Stability

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas’s three-month-old government may be weakened by municipal and Senate elections that begin today amid growing anger over spending cuts.

All three parties in the ruling coalition have lost support since they took power in July and announced saving measures, including a 10 percent reduction in public wages, according to public opinion polls. Necas’s Civic Democrats trail in the capital, Prague, which they have led since the Czech Republic became an independent state in 1993. Voting continues tomorrow.