Czech vice-PM investigated, coalition stands

PRAGUE, Feb 7 (Reuters) The Czech Senate voted to lift the immunity of Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek today, handing him over to the police who suspect him of taking a bribe when he was the mayor of an eastern Czech town.

Cunek, who had asked for his immunity to be lifted, denies any wrongdoing and has said he has documents showing the money had a legitimate origin.

The investigation is a blow to the Christian Democrats, a junior coalition partner in the country's shaky centre-right cabinet, who picked Cunek as their new leader last year in the hope he would lead the party out of a long-term decline.

But it will not have an immediate impact on the ruling coalition, which has just 100 seats on the 200-seat lower house of parliament.

Cunek is not a member of the lower house, but does hold a seat in the Senate upper house, in which the government has a comfortable majority.

The Senate voted 38 to 26 to lift Cunek's immunity, which members of both houses of parliament are granted.

Police are investigating a suspected 500,000 crown (23,060 dollars) bribe Cunek is accused of receiving from a real estate company in the town of Vsetin in 2002.

Cunek called the accusations ''absolutely unjust'' and detailed his financial situation to the Senate before the vote.

''I am telling you all this because I want you to know that you are cooperating with a person who likes his job and performs it for the benefit of the citizens,'' he said.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has so far refrained from criticising Cunek and has not indicated any intention to force him out of the cabinet.

The Czech Republic has gone through a string of sleaze scandals.

Accusations of illegal party financing toppled the right-wing government of Vaclav Klaus in 1997, and Social Democrat Prime Minister Stanislav Gross resigned due to a personal financial scandal in 2005.

REUTERS AB RK1924