Hostility between President and Prime Minister spills over into newsprint

The war of words between Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and President Václav Klaus over the government’s fall was splashed across the pages of Saturday’s Mladá Fronta Dnes. In an interview with the paper President Klaus said the Prime Minister’s accusations that he plotted to topple the government with opposition leader Jiří Paroubek and Prague mayor Pável Bem were “simply lies.” He added that Mr Topolánek had never identified with the Civic Democratic Party’s basic ideas. Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek told the paper President Klaus had campaigned to get rid of him as soon as he was elected party leader in 2002 but he had tried to cover up the poor state of their relations.