Finance Minister Vlastimil Tlusty dismisses long-serving deputy

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Vlastimil Tlusty dismissed his deputy, Eduard Janota, on Friday. Saturday's papers comment on the dismissal being closely connected to newspaper ads taken out recently by the Ministry of Finance, pointing to the state deficit; the ads have met with criticism because they were paid for using taxpayers money, and analysts say that Mr. Janota is taking the fall for the ministry's unpopular strategy. Mr. Janota (54), a non-partisan employee of the Ministry of Finance, has worked under nine different ministers in the post-1989 era. Since 1992 he has served as director of the division responsible for the state budget. In an interview for the daily Pravo, Mr. Janota said that he is not sure whether he will stay on at the ministry in another capacity; this will be a topic of discussion at a meeting with Mr. Tlusty on Monday.