Public Affairs elect new leader

Jiří Kohout was on Saturday elected new chairman of Public Affairs, a former coalition party that failed to win seats in the lower house of Parliament in October’s general election. Mr Kohout replaces Vít Bárta, the grouping’s founder, who stepped down last year over police investigation of his business activities. The new chairman said he considered his role as that of a crisis manager who should improve the party’s reputation.

Public Affairs won around 10 percent of the vote in the 2010 general election, running on promises of clean politics. The party joined a coalition government along with the Civic Democrats and TOP 09 but was rocked by a prolonged series of scandals and infighting.