Social Democrat leader thankful for criticism at party conference

Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek said he was thankful for the criticism he received during the party's annual conference in Brno, which ended on Sunday, and added that he was definitely "not without certain faults." One of the criticisms aimed at Mr Paroubek during the conference was poor communication in the party. Mr Paroubek also welcomed the fact that the party's leadership, which was elected on Saturday evening, represented all strands of opinion within the Social Democrats. Besides being re-elected as leader at the conference, Mr Paroubek also succeeded in having a resolution passed, which called on the Social Democrat deputies and senators not to vote for Mr Klaus in the next presidential elections. He failed, however, to introduce quotas for women on the party's list of candidates, which he sees as a sign of the Social Democrats' commitment to modernisation