Palas to run for Social Democrat chairman at March congress

The Agriculture Minister Jaroslav Palas has said he will run for the post of deputy chairman of the Social Democrats at the party's congress in March. The two candidates for the post of chairman are the acting head of the party, Prime Minister Stanislav Gross and the Labour and Social Affairs Minister Zdenek Skromach. After a series of election defeats, the ruling coalition party's leadership says it needs to find strong personalities who would come up with a new programme and present it to the voters.