PM says he considers matter of ministry party amidst tragic shooting closed

Prime Minister Petr Fiala has thrown his weight behind the embattled Labour Minister Marian Jurečka who has come under pressure to resign because he did not cancel a Christmas party held at the ministry on the night of tragic shooting at Charles University and himself attended it until the late night hours. “Mr. Jurečka made an error in judgement, but he regrets the mistake and has since apologized,” Prime Minister Fiala said at a press briefing on Tuesday before departing for a working visit to India. The prime minister added that he thinks this was the right way to handle things and thus considers the matter closed. The Christian Democratic Party is to meet on Tuesday evening to take a stand on the matter.

In answer to a question from a journalist about whether the labour minister would receive a "yellow card" for his actions, as Justice Minister Pavel Blažek did for his meeting with controversial political lobbyist Martin Nejedlý last year, Mr. Fiala responded that that was an error "of a different magnitude".