Summary
17 June 2013
After claims of organised crime and corruption in the Czech government, Czech Prime Minster Petr Necas has decided to resign.
Reporter:
Steve Evans
Several Czech government buildings were raided
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Report
The scandal reads like the script of a European television thriller, melding politics with human drama.
The pressure had been growing on the prime minister since Friday when his chief of staff, Jana Nagyova, was charged with corruption and abuse of power. Detectives said she was suspected of bribing MPs with jobs in state-owned companies.
Last week, police raided government offices and seized $8m worth of cash and gold. The chief of staff is also accused of ordering spying on Prime Minister Necas' wife.
Intriguingly, he said in his resignation speech that what he called the "twists and turns of his personal life" were a weight on the political situation in the country.
It is not clear if the president of the country will rule that there should be a new general election, or whether some form of the existing coalition government will continue with a different prime minister.
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Vocabulary
- scandal
a story about dishonest or immoral behaviour that shocks people
- thriller
a book, film or play with an exciting story, usually about crime or mystery
- melding
joining together
- bribing
giving money or presents to someone so they will do something for you, often something illegal
- raided
(here referring to police) entered, in order to search for criminals or evidence of crime
- intriguingly
interestingly, because of being strange or mysterious
- twists and turns
unexpected changes and difficulties
- rule
(here referring to a new law) decide officially
