‘Petr Nečas’s rough landing’

Published on 17 June 2013 at 09:38

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Petr Nečas has stepped down as prime minister and ODS chairman four days after top officials and his closest aides -- including alleged mistress Jana Nagyová -- were arrested in a huge police raid of state and private institutions. According to a police briefing, Nagyová abused her power by having military intelligence spy on Nečas’s wife in order to pressure him to divorce.

In Prague, Hospodářské noviny writes:

Nečas has ended up a sad figure. He allowed police to freely investigate fiscal crime and corruption. […] But his entourage was too closely connected with the milieu and methods of “political entrepreneurs”. […] Because of his choices, he ended up caught between “godfather practices […] and a new generation of policemen and state attorneys”.

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Three scenarios of further development seem to be possible: maintaining the current coalition government with a new PM, appointing a caretaker government, or calling early elections.

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