(Repeats story published early today)
* Parties agree on government reshuffle
* Former organised crime police expert to head interior min.
By Jan Korselt and Robert Mueller
PRAGUE, April 19 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic's
three-party coalition has agreed to stay in government and
reshuffle the cabinet following a corruption scandal, Prime
Minister Petr Necas said on Tuesday, confirming a Reuters
report. []
Following one of the most dramatic graft and conspiracy
scandals to hit the country since the fall of Communism, the
leftist opposition also moved to test the unpopular party
grouping by scheduling a no confidence vote for next week.
"Today we have reached an agreement on resolving the
government crisis," Necas told reporters, adding the government
would seek a separate vote of confidence in parliament by the
end of June, linked to a vote on approval of the cabinet's key
reform bills.
Monday's agreement follows weeks of uncertainty in which
Necas had demanded the dismissal of ministers from the
coalition's junior members, the Public Affairs party, after a
number of its deputies said a party leader had paid them to keep
them loyal.
The crux of the disagreement among parties was the post of
interior minister, held by Public Affairs Chairman Radek John.
Necas' Civic Democrat party said Public Affairs must give up
the ministry after media reports of the party's close links with
security firm ABL, formerly owned by unofficial Public Affairs
head Vit Barta, which media reports said spied on politicians.
Barta, who was also accused of paying his party's deputies,
has denied any wrongdoing and resigned as transport minister
last week.
John said the agreement was an interim deal because it was
subject to the confidence vote and the coalition still had
issues to resolve, including a separate scandal linked to a
Civic Democrat minister.
Necas said the interior ministry post would be filled by Jan
Kubice, a non-partisan figure who formerly headed a police unit
fighting organised crime. John would become a deputy prime
minister in charge of fighting corruption.
Barta will be replaced temporarily by a non-partisan figure
and will be able to return to the helm of the transport ministry
after all scandals linked with him are cleared up, Necas said.
He added more personnel changes in the government could take
place by the end of spring.
The new interior minister, Kubice, drew notice prior to a
2006 general election by issuing a report that detailed how top
politicians attempted to interfere with police investigations.
The then leader of the Social Democrats, which lost the
election to the Civic Democrats, said his report was responsible
for his party's loss.
(Reporting by Jana Mlcochova and Michael Winfrey; Editing by
Louise Ireland)
