Klaus says he no longer trusts new defence minister

President Václav Klaus said on Sunday that he has lost confidence in Deputy Prime Minister Karolína Peake after the new defence minister wasted no time introducing unexpected personnel changes. During her appointment on Wednesday, Mrs Peake said she was planning no major shake-up; but on her second day in the post, she dismissed first deputy minister Vlastimil Picek, who is a former chief of the general staff of the armed forces, and two others. Mr Klaus said that Prime Minister Petr Nečas had repeatedly assured him that the ministry’s top officials would remain in their posts to secure stability in the defence sector. The prime minister was himself caught off guard by Defence Minister Peake’s rapid move.