Press: Social Democrats survive attempted takeover by president’s supporters

The Social Democrat party faced an attempted takeover by the supporters of President Miloš Zeman over the weekend, the daily Právo reported. On Saturday, the Social Democrat leadership held a secret vote to confirm party chair Bohuslav Sobotka as their nominee for prime minister, a move pushed through by the president’s sympathizers. Mr. Sobotka received 86 out of 151 votes and reportedly considered stepping down due to insufficient support. Several members of the party’s executive committee who backed Mr Sobotka, including Senator Jiří Dienstbier, later said the party had survived an attempted takeover. Observers say the Social Democrats are divided among those supporting Bohuslav Sobotka and those who would prefer closer cooperation with President Zeman and his party, SPOZ.