(The Fleet Sheet-MFD/15) Deputy PM Pavel Mertlík went so far as to suggest that the
Zeman cabinet should perhaps resign if its 1999 budget proposal does not pass Parliament. He is nevertheless confident that the budget will be approved in its present form. He ruled out the idea that the deficit would be reduced before the cabinet submits the final proposal. He also revealed that it was Premier Zeman himself who proposed the final deficit amount of Kč 27bn. (Earlier reports had suggested that Zeman favored a Kč 15bn deficit.) (MFD/1) Zeman rejected Mertlík’s earlier idea of lying passage of the 1999 deficit budget to a vote of confidence. This would violate the opposition treaty with ODS, Zeman said. Several ministers – such as Vladimír Špidla, Pavel Dostál and Ivan David – might resign if the cabinet’s budget proposal does not pass. (HN/1) Václav Grulich and Jaroslav Císař might also leave their posts.