Miroslav Šlouf to leave Citizens’ Rights Party–Zemanites’

The controversial political “lobbyist” Miroslav Šlouf who co-founded the Citizens’ Rights Party–Zemanites’ has announced he is leaving the party and will not support it in the upcoming general elections. Mr. Šlouf told the daily Pravo he feels hard done by over the way he was scratched off the party’s Prague ballot and by the attitude of several leading party members. One-time chief political advisor to President Miloš Zeman, Miroslav Šlouf is a highly controversial figure – a former communist believed to have enormous influence and connections to the underworld who has been linked to many political scandals and shady deals. Although he is credited with Mr. Zeman’s election victory, the president has publicly distanced himself from his former advisor and the party he co-founded now sees him as a liability.