Civic Democrats call on prime minister to dismiss health minister

In related news, the opposition right-of-centre Civic Democrats have called on the prime minister to dismiss David Rath as health minister, saying his policies - including the forced administration of the VZP, the largest state-owned insurance company - were harming patients in the health sector. The call for Rath's dismissal was made during a heated exchange in a Parliamentary debate on the health sector on Thursday. The prime minister responded to the Civic Democrats in kind, with his own charges levelled at several opposition MPs.

There have been allegations of inappropriate financial ties between some members of the Civic Democrats and the VZP, charges the Civic Democrats reject.

At the moment MPs are weighing the idea of an independent commission investigating financial management at the VZP. Debate on the health sector is to continue next week.