Czech premier announces resignation over aide scandal

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas has announced his resignation amid a huge corruption and spying scandal which involves his chief of staff.

“I will tender my resignation as prime minister tomorrow,” he told reporters on Sunday, adding, “The entire government will therefore resign with me.”

His decision to step down came after prosecutors charged his chief of staff Jana Nagyova with corruption and abuse of power on June 14.

Two former lawmakers, an ex-minister and the current and former heads of military intelligence have also been arrested in connection with the scandal.

According to President Milos Zeman the charges, which were brought after police raid on government and private offices on June 12, are “serious.”

Nagyova, who has been a close colleague of Necas for almost a decade, is suspected of bribing the former lawmakers with offers of posts in state-owned firms allegedly in exchange for them giving up their parliamentary seats.

Nagyova is also accused of illegally ordering military intelligence to spy on several people, one of whom is reported to be Necas’s wife, Radka Necasova.

However, the prime minister has dismissed all the accusations against Nagyova and the other five accused, saying, “I am personally convinced that I did not do anything dishonest and that my colleagues have not done anything dishonest either.”

Earlier, the opposition Social Democrats had warned that they would seek a no-confidence motion in parliament unless Necas resigned. Meanwhile, the two other parties in his center-right coalition had hinted that they could no longer back him.

Necas also announced on Sunday that he would resign as his right-wing Civic Democrat Party’s chairman.