Jiri Paroubek has replaced Stanislav Gross as Prime Minister

President Vaclav Klaus accepted the resignation of Stanislav Gross as Prime Minister on Monday, ending weeks of political crisis. The Cabinet was also dissolved, as is required by the Constitution, when a prime minister resigns. Before tendering his official resignation, Mr Gross' party, the Social Democrats, and their coalition partners, the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union, signed a deal for a new government. The incoming prime minister is Jiri Paroubek, a vice chairman of the Social Democratic party who was the Regional Development Minister in the previous government.

Stanislav Gross, a former interior minister, had led the government since last July; he remains Social Democrat party chairman. Calls for Mr Gross' resignation came after media coverage revealed that he had spent more to buy his Prague apartment than he could have afforded on a government salary. Mr Gross had offered several, contradictory explanations of how he had paid for the apartment. The controversial business dealings of his wife had also become a political issue.

Author: Brian Kenety