President Klaus says he had no hand in government’s fall

President Klaus has rejected allegations that he had contributed to the fall of former prime minister Topolánek’s centre right government, which was toppled in a vote of no-confidence in mid-March. In an interview for Friday’s Lidové noviny Mr. Klaus said that the main reason for the government’s fall was infighting within all three ruling parties which weakened the government in the lower house. He said it had been folly on the part of Green Party leader Martin Bursík to expel two deputies from the party at a time when the governing coalition no longer had a majority in the lower house. Shortly after his government was toppled, the former prime minister Mirek Topolánek accused President Klaus, Prague mayor Pavel Bem and rivals within his own Civic Democratic Party of having orchestrated the fall.