Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas has nominated Karolina Peake, a deputy prime minister and head of the smallest ruling party LIDEM, as the new defence minister and Zbynek Stanjura, the head of the parliamentary group of Necas's Civic Democrat party (ODS), as the new transport ministry, according to a statement on the governments website. Additionally Necas nominated unaffiliated expert Petr Mlsna as a minister without portfolio. Peake will replace Alexandr Vondra (ODS), who resigned on November 28 saying he had lost the confidence of voters as he failed to be re-elected as Senator in the October elections. Vondra also lost the post of deputy chairman of the senior ruling ODS at the partys congress in early November. The opposition has long called for Vondras resignation over allegations that during the Czech EU Presidency in the first half of 2009 he had knowingly approved overpriced contracts with audiovisual firm ProMoPro. Vondra was the last of the original ODS ministers appointed to the Necas cabinet that came to power in July 2010. Stanjura will succeed Pavel Dobes (LIDEM), who resigned after Peake said he failed to make the new vehicle registration system work properly. One of Stanjuras new tasks will be to prepare the merger of the transport and industry and trade ministry into an economy ministry in the next 18 months. |
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