Czech PM apologises to opposition leader

The Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has publicly apologized to his Social Democrat opposition counterpart Jiří Paroubek for disparaging comments made by Interior Minister Ivan Langer. The comments relate to a recent failure of the government to extend the military missions of Czech forces overseas, something that resulted because the Social Democrat opposition failed to vote for the measure. Mr Langer then called the Social Democrat leader a “murderer” for allowing what many viewed as the crucial missions of Czech forces in Afghanistan and Iraq to be jeopardized. Later, Mr Paroubek made any further discussions on the toleration of the current coalition government conditional on an apology from the PM. Mr Paroubek has accepted the apology and stated that it would no doubt contribute to the political discourse in the country. Czech forces overseas are currently functioning under a provisional extension order, with a new mandate to be negotiated by the government and opposition next week.