Civic Democrats not preparing confidence vote

The opposition Civic Democrats do not plan to initiate a confidence vote in the government of Prime Minister Stanislav Gross over the financing of Mr Gross's luxury flat in Prague. The party's deputy head Ivan Langer said on Thursday it would be an empty gesture at this point. The Prime Minister himself said that he is not going to resign over the controversy surrounding the purchase of his flat. Speaking at the lower house of parliament on Thursday he said the controversy, as well as speculation about the financial sources of his wife's business were created artificially. Recently the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes discovered that Mr Gross's flat cost more than he had officially earned. So far the explanations given by the Prime Minister have not been accepted by his political opponents.