Nečas will not dismiss Transport Minister, for now

Prime Minister Petr Nečas says he will not dismiss Transport Minister Pavel Dobeš, provided the new vehicle registration system continues to function properly over the coming days. The system was seemingly in working order on Friday morning, though many registration offices were closed for the day and its maximum efficiency could not be put to the test. The prime minister gave Mr Dobeš an ultimatum this week as public discontent over the persistent malfunctions escalated, giving him until Friday to get the system in good working order or else resign. Following an all-night crisis meeting the system appeared to have been stabilized on Thursday with all stations processing applications, though at a slower pace than usual. Minister Dobeš has said he will leave his post if a single application is not processed on Friday. The Transport Ministry claims the most recent problems were caused not by the faultiness of the new system itself but by overloaded servers at the Police Presidium, which handle the Schengen Information System. The failing system has caused major problems for drivers since it was launched on July 9.