Stanislav Gross appointed Prime Minister

President Vaclav Klaus has appointed the acting leader of the Social Democratic Party Stanislav Gross the country's new Prime Minister. Mr. Gross heads an old-new Cabinet of three coalition parties, the Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the right wing Freedom Union. The new Cabinet will have a thin one-vote majority in the Lower House, and the new Prime Minister has obtained a pledge in writing from each of the 101 coalition deputies that he can rely on them to back the new administration. Later today, the new Prime Minister is to meet with the leaders of the two smaller parties of the governing coalition to debate government policy and personnel matters. The thirty-four year old Stanislav Gross is the youngest Prime Minister in the country's history. He has replaced his party colleague Vladimir Spidla who resigned several weeks ago, after narrowly surviving a vote of no-confidence as party chairman.