Lower house chair Miloslav Vlček forced to step down over affairs
The chairman of the lower house of the Czech Parliament Miloslav Vlček has been forced to step down, after revelations of improper loan arrangements and reports he helped an associate abuse a state grant system. Mr Vlček, who sometimes seemed out of his depth as speaker, has also withdrawn his name as an election candidate for the Social Democrats.
However, in four years he never won much respect in parliament, with poor handling of a presidential election a particular blot on his copybook. One news site referred to him as the “sad clown” of Czech politics.
Social Democrats leader Jiří Paroubek told reporters on Thursday that Mr Vlček would be quitting as lower house speaker at the end of the month. He has also stood down from the party’s list of candidates for May’s general elections.
Two separate affairs proved the undoing of Miloslav Vlček. One involved former assistant Petr Vrtal. Mr Vlček successfully lobbied for a 25-million-crown state grant for a sports centre Mr Vrtal promised to build. However, he is reported to have put the money into a large hotel. When the story broke the lower house chair came in for ridicule for denying he knew the businessman.
That dispute could run for some time. For now, Mr Vlček is heading off into the political sunset. Deputy chair Miroslava Němcová will fill his post until the current parliament ends in a little over a month’s time.
