Klaus questions appointment of “girl” Peake as defence minister

The Czech president, Václav Klaus, has questioned the wisdom of the mooted appointment of Karolina Peake to the post of defence minister. Mr. Klaus said on Friday that he did not believe that burly soldiers would not accept such a “little girl” (“dívenka”) as head of the army, or that the leader of the coalition’s smallest party LIDEM could become an expert on the army overnight. Mrs. Peake said she would try to persuade the president that she wasn’t a fragile little girl, adding that ministries were usually headed by politicians, not always experts in the given field. Prime Minister Petr Nečas has said he will announce the names of new defence and transport ministers next week.