Social Democrat defector makes blackmail allegation

MP Petr Wolf, who recently left the opposition Social Democrats, has alleged that party leader Jiří Paroubek attempted to blackmail him during February’s presidential election. The MP told Czech news agency ČTK that Mr Paroubek had said that if he did not support Social Democrat candidate Jan Švejnar, he would disclose information of alleged irregularities at a firm where Wolf had worked. Mr Švejnar was eventually defeated by the incumbent, Václav Klaus, nominated by the ruling Civic Democratic Party. Petr Wolf on Sunday reiterated he had left his party’s deputies group after facing continued pressure and denied he had been “bought” by the ruling coalition. He is the fourth MP to have left the Social Democratic Party since it went into the opposition in 2006.

Author: Jan Velinger