Jiri Paroubek: reforms will plunge country into darkness.

Meanwhile, in related news, the leader of the opposition Social Democrats, Jiri Paroubek, has dismissed the government's argument that the proposed reforms are needed to rein in public spending and said that they would plunge the Czech Republic into darkness. He said that the reforms will only benefit the rich and will increase poverty in the country. Reacting to Mr Topolanek's assertion that they were an emergency brake for public spending, he said that applying the emergency brake when the road was slippery may cause the car to crash disastrously.