a particularly amusing aspect of this is that an apartment he sorted out for his wife ended up being used by a friend of hers who rented it out to become a brothel – at the same time as Gross was declaring zero tolerance on the Czech sex industry and clamping down on licenses!
Incidentally the clampdown on Cztek was one of the first things Gross did when he came to power..
Scandal-hit Czech PM Gross quits
Czech Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has resigned after weeks of political crisis triggered by a row over the financing of his luxury apartment. President Vaclav Klaus accepted the resignation, the Associated Press says. The coalition will now be dissolved.
The deputy leader of Mr Gross’ Social Democrats, Jiri Paroubek, is expected to head a new coalition government.
The centre-left Social Democrats are in power with the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union.
Mr Gross, 35, was Europe’s youngest prime minister and his term of office one of its shortest.
He led the Czech Republic for just nine months before allegations of financial impropriety led to the collapse of his coalition.
The BBC’s Rob Cameron in Prague says Mr Gross will now retreat to the sidelines to prepare his battered Social Democrats for elections next year.
His successor, Jiri Paroubek, served as regional development minister in Mr Gross’s cabinet.
He is politically to the left of Mr Gross, but no major policy changes are expected from his government, our correspondent says.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4480577.stm
Published: 2005/04/25 08:27:03 GMT
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