Sobotka abandons party leadership, insulted by Topolánek

The head of the Senate and leading Civic Democrat Přemysl Sobotka meanwhile walked out of the council meeting, saying he refused to be in the same room with Mr Topolánek after the latter accused him of conspiracy. Mr Sobotka also said he would resign his honorary membership in the party’s leadership board, to which he is privy as the chairman of the senate. Mr Sobotka was the first from within the Civic Democratic Party to call upon the chairman to resign earlier in the week. Mr Topolánek said earlier Thursday that he was unsure of the Senate chairman’s true motivations, which he said looked like an attempted coup from the outside.