Jiří Horák's Federal Cabinet (WFAC)

Horák's Federal Cabinet
35th cabinet of Czechoslovakia
Date formed	23 April 1982
Date dissolved	27 July 1983
People and organisations
President	Miloslav Rechcígl (1982) Jiří Hájek (1982–1983)
Prime Minister	Jiří Horák
Deputy head of government	Bohuslav Kučera František Toman Michal Kováč
No. of ministers	18
Member party	ČSSD (9 ministers) ČSNS (3 ministers) ČSL (3 ministers) SĽS (3 ministers)
Status in legislature	Majority government 164 / 300
Parliamentary support	20 / 300 KSČ (19) KAN (1)
Opposition parties	116 / 300 RS (82) LDS (15) SD (11) SDVP (4) SMK-MKP (4)
History
Election(s)	1980 federal election
Legislature term(s)	1980–1983
Predecessor	Dubček V
Successor	Klaus I

Jiří Horák's federal cabinet assumed office on 23 April 1982 after Alexander Dubček stepped down as prime minister in order to give Horák time to settle into his role before the federal election campaign scheduled for 1984.

In 1983 the ČSSD–ČSNS–ČSL/SĽS coalition collapsed. The split culminated in the resignation of all ČSL/SĽS ministers on 8 April 1983. Horák briefly replaced them with an ČSSD–ČSNS cabinet before being voted out of office in a vote of no confidence initated by Republican leader Václav Klaus, resulting in dissolution of the Federal Assembly and the 1983 snap elections.

Parties involved in the cabinet

The government was composed by the following parties:

Party		Ideology	Leader
	Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD)	Social democracy	Jiří Horák
	Czechoslovak National Social Party (ČSNS)	Nationalist socialism	Bohuslav Kučera
	Czechoslovak People's Party (ČSL)	Christian democracy	František Toman
	Slovak People's Party (SĽS)	Christian democracy	Michal Kováč

Party breakdown of ministers

ČSSD	9
ČSNS	3
ČSL	3
SĽS	3

Government formation

While Alexander Dubček's personal approval ratings remained high despite a slight slip, the Republican Party raced out to a substantial lead over the ČSSD in opinion polls under their new leader Václav Klaus. By the beginning of 1982, it was obvious that the ČSSD would be defeated unless the party underwent a reorganization and renewal. While the other members of the Social Democratic leadership, comprising Jiří Horák, Marián Čalfa and Jiří Dienstbier, publicly endorsed Dubček to remain as prime minister, they were privately urging that he should resign before the 1983 election, in order to give the new leader time to settle into his role before the election campaign.

While Dubček personally favoured Dienstbier, who was young, popular and considered a rising star in the party, he was considered too inexperienced at executive level to be nominated Prime Minister at this time. Instead, the Political Board of the ČSSD chose to nominate Minister of Industry Horák for the position. On 13 April 1982, Dubček announced he would not lead the ČSSD into the next election and that he would resign in favour of Horák. On 23 April he handed over power to Horák, and on 27 April Horák's cabinet passed its investiture vote with the support of the Communists, KAN and the German (SDVP) and Hungarian (SMK-MKP) minority parties.

Investiture votes

Investiture Jiří Horák (ČSSD)
Ballot →		27 April 1982
Required majority →		151 out of 300 Y
	Yes • ČSSD (107) • ČSL (24) • KSČ (19) • SĽS (17) • ČSNS (16) • SDVP (4) • SMK-MKP (4) • KAN (1)	192 / 300
	No • RS (82) • LDS (15) • SD (11)	108 / 300
	Abstentions	0 / 300
	Absentees	0 / 300

Policies

Economic challenges

In September 1982 the government passed a tax bill in the Chamber of Deputies with the support of the ČSNS and the Communists. The bill consisted of tax increases on tobacco, spirits, sugar, chocolate, energy and car registration fees. The bill was supposed to contribute to the financing of the March package (Březenový balíček) of 1982, but by dampening demand, it also exceeded the package's employment objective.

Fall of government

The government had cooperated with the Communists on the political settlements, but basically the ČSSD, the National Social Party, the Christian Democrats and the Communists pulled in different directions. The ČSL/SĽS wanted a tighter course of income policy, control of the state budget deficit and a tax reform, while the Communists had with the March package, stretched their 'political accountability' to the limit. The party simply could not accept any more austerity measures and budget cuts.

The ČSL/SĽS' support and later participation in government had eroded popular support for the party in the polls and widened the split among the parties' left and right wings. This culminated at the ČSL party leadership election on 12 February 1983, where the young Antonín Baudyš surprisingly defeated the incumbent leader František Toman. Unlike his predecessor, Baudyš represented the right wing of the party that favoured cooperation with the Republicans, which quickly became a source of tension within the coalition. Later, on 26 February 1983, the leader Michal Kováč managed only narrowly to defeat the more conservative and populist challenger Vladimír Mečiar.

On 5 April the ČSL/SĽS presented an economic policy proposal in the Federal Assembly that comprised budget consolidation, creating incentives for job-creating investments, curbing the exploding welfare costs and a deregulation. In response, the Communists announced that they would not support the government if the 1984 federal budget featured any more austerity measures. The OSČ (Odborové sdružení československé, Czechoslovak Trade Union Association) also urged the ČSSD not to accept the proposal.

Horák was now in a deadlock between the Communists on one hand and the Christian Democrats on the other. While Horák was keen on maintaining the coalition, he was also aware that the policies now proposed by the ČSL/SĽS was incompatible with the policies of the ČSSD. In a speech to the Chamber of Deputies on 8 April, Horák informed that while the proposal was incompatible with ČSSD policy, he urged the two parties to work closely on reaching a compromise. In response, both Baudyš and Kováč declared that he had lost political trust in the coalition with the ČSSD and ČSNS, and announced the resignation of all ČSL and SĽS ministers in Horák's cabinet.

Horák continued to lead a minority government composed only of ČSSD and ČSNS members while continuing the negotiations with members of the ČSL. While some ČSL members were continuing the negotiations with Horák, the rest of the ČSL/SĽS negotiated a coalition with the Republicans with Václav Klaus as prime minister. On 21 April, Klaus proposed a motion of no confidence which was supported by the ČSL/SĽS, the Liberal Democrats and the Free Democrats. The motion carried with 152 to 148.

On 25 April, President Hajek dissolved the Federal Assembly and announced 18 June 1983 as election day.

Cabinet

Portfolio	Name	Assumed office	Left office	Party
Prime Minister	Jiří Horák	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Deputy Prime Minister	Bohuslav Kučera	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSNS
Deputy Prime Minister	František Toman	23 April 1982	14 February 1983		ČSL
	Antonín Baudyš	14 February 1983	8 April 1983		ČSL
Deputy Prime Minister	Michal Kováč	23 April 1982	8 April 1983		SĽS
Foreign Minister	Jiří Dienstbier	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Defence	Martin Dzúr	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Finance	Ota Šik	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Economic Affairs	Oldřich Černík	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Justice	Bohuslav Kučera	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSNS
Federal Minister of the Interior	Michal Kováč	23 April 1982	8 April 1983		SĽS
	Jiří Horák	8 April 1983	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Industry	Valtr Komárek	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Trade	Karel Löbl	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSNS
Federal Minister of Labour	Marián Čalfa	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Social Affairs	František Toman	23 April 1982	14 February 1983		ČSL
	Antonín Baudyš	14 February 1983	8 April 1983		ČSL
	Marián Čalfa	8 April 1983	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Education and Research	Oldřiška Mikundová	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSNS
Federal Minister for Family, Youth and Sports	Ján Čarnogurský	23 April 1982	8 April 1983		SĽS
	Oldřiška Mikundová	8 April 1983	27 July 1983		ČSNS
Federal Minister of Health	Marie Formanová	23 April 1982	8 April 1983		ČSL
	Eva Fischerová	8 April 1983	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Transportation and Communication	Vladimír Blažek	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister for Housing and Urban Development	Mária Paulechová	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Wages and Prices	Eva Fischerová	23 April 1982	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Agriculture and Food	Jozef Zlocha	23 April 1982	8 April 1983		SĽS
	Miroslav Toman	11 April 1983	27 July 1983		ČSSD
Federal Minister of Energy and Environment	Josef Bartončík	23 April 1982	8 April 1983		ČSL
	Miroslav Toman	11 April 1983	27 July 1983		ČSSD

See also

• Jiří Horák