MF Dnes lobbying investigation causes shake-up in TOP 09 and Communist Party

In other news, an investigative report published in the daily Mladá fronta Dnes has caused shake-ups in two Czech political parties. One leading candidate for the new centre-right party TOP 09 resigned his seat in parliament on Saturday and two Communist Party vice-chairmen have been asked to resign after the paper revealed they had promised a reporter, who was posing as a casino owner, to attempt to modify an upcoming amendment to the lotteries act in exchange for party donations of one million crowns. The party members also agreed to conceal the identity of the donor, which would be a violation of the law. The TOP 09 member in question, MP Ladislav Šustr, who is also on the supervisory board of the lottery operator Sazka and has been stricken from the TOP 09 ballot, said his actions were of his own accord and were not coordinated with the party. According to Mladá Fronta, the Green Party was the only one to refuse the proposal outright.