Milos Zeman won't support Jiri Paroubek

In an interview for the Saturday edition of Prazsky Denik, former Social Democratic prime minister Milos Zeman says that he will not support the current Social Democratic leader, Jiri Paroubek, at the next party congress due to be held in spring 2007. Mr. Zeman says he made the decision to withhold his support for the party's current leader after Mr. Paroubek addressed him harshly on Thursday, saying that Mr. Zeman should behave as a regular member of the Social Democratic Party, and refrain from receiving other leading politicians as guests at his home. Tensions flared after news of the current Finance Minister Vlastimil Tlusty's visit to Mr. Zeman earlier this week Mr. Zeman, who lent his support to Jiri Paroubek in the spring general election campaign, says that he will no longer assist the Social Democratic Party—a party he helped build in the 1990s.