Prime Minister Gross inaugurates four new ministers

The new Czech Prime Minister, Stanislav Gross, inaugurated four new government ministers to their posts on Thursday, a day after the new cabinet was sworn in. Social Democrat Milada Emmerova has taken up the post of Health Minister and her party colleague Jiri Paroubek has replaced the chairman of the Freedom Union, Pavel Nemec, at the post of Local Development Minister. Pavel Nemec has assumed the post of Justice Minister. On Thursday, Prime Minister Stanislav Gross also inaugurated Frantisek Bublan to the post of Interior Minister, which he himself had held in the previous cabinet of the former Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla. The remaining new minister, Karel Kuehnl of the Freedom Union, is expected to assume his post of Defence Minister on Friday.

The other ministers in the 18-member cabinet had served under Mr Spidla in the last government. The new coalition cabinet, with a majority of just one in the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies, faces a vote of confidence on August 24.