Czech leftist government resigns (MalaysiaSun.com) Leftist Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek resigned Wednesday, making way for a new rightist government to step in.The move followed more than 10 weeks of post-election negotiations to work out a new coalition government to be led by Mirek Topolanek, president of the conservative Civic Democratic party, Prague Radio reported.Paroubek, leader of the Social Democratic party said Topolanek and his Civic Democrats should be given a chance to try and govern.In parliamentary elections June 2-3, Topolanek's Civic Democrats won 81 seats, the most of all parties in the 200-deputy lower house, but not enough to form a government without coalition supporters.

The title and excerpt say it all. Some new names to learn: Jiří Paroubek is out and Mirek Topolánek is in. The two leaders: OUT > IN > It's also interesting to note how easily a headline can give a misleading impression. When I first read it I thought something horrible happened and the government collapsed. But in fact, resignation is what the government does in the Czech political system when a new government is put together following elections. So in fact, given that the elections resulting in a virtual tie were held more than two months ago, the resignation of the government is actually good news because it signals progress in political negotiations.‹ previous  •  313 of 530  •  next ›