Prague/Vsetín - It's difficult, if not impossible, to run away from one's past, especially in politics. Jiří Čunek, leader of the Christian Democratic Union-Czech People's Party (KDU-ČSL) and the Deputy Prime Minister in the coalition government could be giving lectures on the topic.
Having survived a police investigation into alleged bribery of 500 thousand Czech Crowns earlier this year, Mr. Čunek's questionable financial matters came under scrutiny once again after an investigative report aired by Czech TV claimed he had been depositing millions of Czech Crowns in his bank accounts while receiving welfare in the 1990s.
The Deputy PM rejects the claim and announced he had filed a libel suit against the national broadcaster.
Opposition is fuming
The opposition attempted to initiate a debate about Mr. Čunek's financial matters in the parliament but its motion was rejected by the joint forces of KDU-ČSL and their senior coalition partner, Civic Democratic Party (ODS). A heated exchange took place on the chamber floor afterwards.
"You will be sorry for the veto. The opposition is legitimately asking for information on how the Prime Minister intends to solve the issue and for how long he plans to tolerate the situation (with Mr. Čunek)," the leader of the social democratic (ČSSD) lower house faction Michal Hašek said.
According to the report on Czech TV Mr. Čunek's family received social benefits worth of 51 thousand CZK in the year 1998 and 40 thousand CZK a year later. At the same time he had been depositing substantial amounts of money in his bank accounts.
The Deputy PM said in an interview for Právo daily on Monday he only received regular parental financial assistance from the state and never claimed any other benefits. Besides, he says, it had all happened before he entered political arena.
Čunek goes home
While the issue was exploding in parliament today, Mr. Čunek was attending a city council meeting in his native Vsetín in East Moravia, where he earlier served as mayor, jumpstarting his political career by moving local Roma (ethnic minority) families into social housing units outside the city.
He also created uproar later when he launched a thinly-veiled attack on the under-employed Roma community by saying that "a well tanned skin is a best guarantee for receiving social benefits in the Czech Republic".
The tables have now apparently turned on him as far as the allegations of welfare abuse are concerned.
"I have nothing to say about the case aside from a recommendation to people not to believe everything that appears in the media," Jiří Čunek told Aktuálně.cz reporter at today's meeting in Vsetín.
He is likely to face more questions when he returns to Prague though, no less than from his own party colleagues who have voiced concern today over the allegations made by Czech TV and demanded that their chairman sets the record straight as soon as possible.
