Social Democrats concerned over egg throwing

Social Democrat election campaign organisers are concerned about incidents in which people have thrown eggs at the party’s leader, Jiří Paroubek, Právo reported. Party officials fear the incidents are tarnishing gatherings intended to get out the vote in elections to the European Parliament next month, the newspaper said. Mr Paroubek has been hit by eggs twice on the hustings this week, while opponents have brought boxes of eggs to other meetings without actually throwing them. The Social Democrats chairman has accused rivals the Civic Democrats of being behind the eggs, an accusation the right-of-centre party denies; leader Mirek Topolánek said voters who want to express their dissatisfaction with Mr Paroubek should do so at the polls on June 5 and 6. Newspaper Lidové noviny reported that 15,000 people had joined a Facebook group called “Eggs for Paroubek in Every Town”.