Google – AFP, 16 June 2013
Czech Prime
Minister Petr Necas, pictured here on June 16, 2013
(AFP/File, Janek
Skarzynski)
|
PRAGUE —
Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said Sunday he would step down, amid a massive
corruption scandal in which his top aide was indicted for bribery.
"I
will step down as prime minister tomorrow. I am aware of my political
responsibility," Necas told reporters after talks in Prague with partners
in his centre-right minority coalition government in power since July 2010.
"When
I step down the entire government will step down in line with the
constitution," Necas said.
He said he
would seek a new coalition led by a prime minister from his rightwing party
that would garner sufficient support in the 200-seat parliament.
It was not
immediately clear Sunday evening what action leftwing rival President Milos
Zeman would take.
Zeman
demanded Necas step down amid the scandal, while the president's leftwing
allies, the opposition Social Democrats, had called for a snap election which
opinion polls show they would win.
The next
regularly scheduled election is in May 2014. Necas has been leading a shaky
minority coalition since 2012, which nonetheless survived several confidence
motions.
Czech media
said Sunday Necas's right-wing Civic Democrats now had time to look for a new
prime minister among their ranks. Deputy party chairman Martin Kuba was tipped
as a candidate.
The graft
scandal rocking Prague erupted when police earlier this week raided the cabinet
office, defence ministry, villas and a bank.
Necas's
chief of staff Jana Nagyova was on Friday charged with complicity in the
"abuse of power and with bribery" and was placed in custody on
Saturday.
Seven other
people -- including military intelligence heads and former lawmakers -- have
also been indicted for corruption among other alleged crimes.
The
48-year-old Nagyova was charged with bribery after allegedly promising three
former lawmakers from Necas's party lucrative jobs in state-run companies on
condition they quit the parliament.
But police
also uncovered instances in which they say Nagyova had abused her power, by
asking the head of Czech military intelligence to tail the prime minister's
wife Radka, 47, and two other people.
Necas
announced this week he was getting divorced from his wife after more than 25 years,
amid media speculation that Nagyova was his lover.
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