Bribery scandal

The Speaker of the Lower House Lubomir Zaoralek has called a meeting of all parliamentary party leaders, ahead of Tuesday's debate. They are to discuss a scandal which erupted in Parliament last week when Freedom Union deputy Zdenek Koristka accused the opposition Civic Democrats of offering him a ten million crown bribe to bring down the government in Tuesday's vote.

Mr. Koristka said later he was not the only one approached and he urged other MPs with similar experiences to speak out. The incident has resulted in counter accusations levelled against the Social Democrats, and the Civic Democrats say they will file charges against Mr. Koristka for allegedly spreading lies about them. The Speaker of Parliament said the accusations were a serious blow to Parliament's credibility and should be thoroughly investigated.