Social Democrat grassroots organization disbands after former leader quits party

A grassroots Social Democrat organization in the Moravian Highlands, currently home-base of the former Social Democrat leader Milos Zeman, has announced its decision to disband. The head of the organization said the decision was approved unanimously as a show of support for Mr. Zeman who quit party ranks last week after being accused of having harmed his party financially when he was still its chairman. The decision was sparked by an ongoing row between Mr. Zeman, who led the Social Democrats for eight years and helped make the party one of the strongest forces in Czech politics, and the party's present leader Jiri Paroubek.