Czech ruling party backs speaker to be first woman PM

By Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet

PRAGUE (Reuters) – The ruling Czech Civic Democrats have proposed lower house speaker Miroslava Nemcova as the next prime minister following the resignation of Petr Necas in a corruption scandal, the party said on Wednesday.

The popular Nemcova, 60, would be the Central European country’s first woman prime minister, but the center-right party needs the consent of coalition partners and President Milos Zeman to have her lead the cabinet.

Necas stepped down on Monday, taking the entire government with him, after police charged his closest aide and seven other people, some with bribery and others with illegal spying.

“I see very well how critical and complicated (the) situation in the Czech Republic is…This is the first step. It is positive that we have found a solution quickly,” Nemcova told reporters.

A former bookshop owner from the hilly central region of Vysocina, Nemcova joined the then-newly formed Civic Democrats in 1992, when they became a symbol of market reforms and supporter of small business after the fall of communism.

The mother of one adult son joined parliament in 1998.

The deputy chief of conservative coalition partner TOP09, Miroslav Kalousek, said he respected Nemcova, 60, but saw a problem in finding a replacement for her as speaker – suggesting there may still be some horse-trading ahead.

The coalition does not have a majority in the 200-seat lower house and needs to enlist one or more independents to win a vote of confidence for a new government.

It also needs a nod from Zeman, who is a leftist and an opponent of the coalition and has the sole right to appoint prime ministers. His spokeswoman had no comment on Nemcova.

If there is no deal on a new government, Czech may hold an early election before the parliament’s four-year term ends in May. This would favor the opposition Social Democrats, who hold a commanding 20-plus point lead in polls.

Nemcova is the country’s fourth most popular politician, with 33 percent support in an April poll. She has not been linked to any backroom deals that have become a thorn in the side of many Czechs fed up with graft.

She has been loyal to Necas, who won credit by freeing up the police to go after corruption, before becoming a victim of their newfound powers.

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Police charged Necas’s closest aide, Jana Nagyova, as a part of a wider investigation of political corruption which many Czechs see as endemic.

Prosecutors say Nagyova offered posts in state-owned companies to three deputies from Necas’s party last year to stop a rebellion that threatened to bring him down. Eventually the deputies gave up their parliamentary seats, saving Necas.

Necas has said he reached an agreement with the deputies, but called it a political deal that should not be seen as criminal.

The case is a big test for the prosecutor’s drive against corruption, and will also help set boundaries of acceptable behavior in political negotiations. Many Czech politicians, and some commentators, back the view held by Necas.

A lawyer for Nagyova, who is in custody, says she denies some of the allegations against her, while others argue she acted in good faith.

The European Union member country needs a government in place to complete a tender to build two new nuclear reactors at the Temelin plant in the south of the country, estimated to cost $ 10-15 billion. A consortium including Russia’s Atomstroyexport is competing against Toshiba Corp unit Westinghouse.

Whoever takes power will face lifting the country out of its longest recession in two decades caused by the euro zone debt crisis and the outgoing government’s focus on budget cutting.

(Writing by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Michael Roddy)

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Czech ruling party backs speaker to be first woman PM