Czech Prime Minister resigns after blow in European election

Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla announced his resignation as head of both the government and the Social democrat party (CSSD).

Although he had been facing a barrage of criticism before the June poll, Mr Spidla finally took the decision to step down following a poor performance by the Social democrats in the European election.

The Social Democrats lost out mainly to the two opposition parties – the Civic democrats and the communists - and only reached fifth in the final coun...