Zubová candidacy sparks ire at Social Democrat conference

The decision to put former Green MP Olga Zubová on the Social Democrats’ list of candidates for this autumn’s early elections sparked ire at a party conference on Saturday. The Social Democrats’ deputy leader Bohuslav Sobotka said that he had found out about Ms Zubová’s nomination on the internet on Friday night and that more discussion was needed about such a controversial appointment. South Moravian Governor Michal Hašek said that he hoped those who nominated Ms Zubová for the candidacy would take full responsibility for their decision. Ms Zubová was a member of the Social Democratic Party until 2005 when she decided to run for the Czech Greens. After a series of conflicts with former Green Party head Martin Bursík, Ms Zubová left the Greens to found her own Democratic Green Party, which failed to gain any seats in the recent elections to the European Parliament.