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In an interview for the Czech Press Agency, President Miloš Zeman said on Thursday said that he expects some parties to vote for the caretaker government in a confidence vote. The president has been meeting with representatives of parties in the lower house of parliament since Sunday in an effort to shore up support for the caretaker cabinet, which he named two weeks ago. He also said that in case Jiří Rusnok’s cabinet does not get the support in parliament, he expected the former center-right coalition to provide him with a list of 101 signatures from deputies who would support the old coalition, verified by a notary, before he would consider giving the coalition of Civic Democrats, TOP 09 and LIDEM party to attempt to form a new government. Deputy chairwoman of the Civic Democratic party, Miroslava Němcová, who is expected to lead the possible reincarnation of the old coalition, said that the parliament should deny the president’s request outright.

Jiří Rusnok’s caretaker cabinet has named Radek Augustin head of the Office of the Government. Mr. Augustin is the deputy chairman and the head of the Olomouc branch of President Miloš Zeman’s Party of Citizens’ Rights (SPOZ). He will be replacing Lubomír Poul, who was arrested in June along with the then prime minister’s chief-of-staff Jana Nagyová, as a possible witness to illegal spying. Mr. Poul was later released without charges. Commenting on the current government’s choice for the head of its office, the chairwoman of the lower house of parliament Miroslava Němcová said that it is clear that Zeman’s government is trying to give Zeman’s party all the support it needs for the next parliamentary elections.

Authorities in Saxony have accused Czechs of releasing toxic waste into the Elbe river, which flows through Germany. The Environment Minister of Saxony, Frank Kupfer, told the German newspaper Bild that between 2010 and 2013 there were at least 20 instances of water pollution on the Czech side. The newspaper claims substances such as motor oil or potassium carbonate leaked into the river and the Czech authorities subsequently failed to warn residents downstream and the authorities in Germany.

A water pipe burst in Prague 8 on Wednesday morning, leaving some 50 thousand residents of northern part of the city without running water. The neighborhoods of Střížkov, Prosek, Kobylisy, Ďáblice and parts of Libeň and Vysočany have no accesses to running water as of Wednesday afternoon. Authorities said that the repairs may last until Thursday morning. The spokesman for Prague waterways company said that the most likely cause of the accident is soil movement due to dry weather.