Paroubek says he will remain in office

Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek will remain in the post of chairman and is no longer thinking of resigning. In an interview for Czech television last weekend, Mr. Paroubek criticized his deputies for allegedly failing to support his plan to modernize the party and said that if he could not trust his closest co-workers then he could not remain party boss. Following Tuesday's meeting of the party leadership Mr. Paroubek said that "all differences and misunderstandings had been cleared up". The party leader took a beating at the party's national conference a fortnight ago when he was re-elected to the post by a mere 60 percent of votes, while his deputies all won 80 to 90 percent support.