Czech center-right government survives crisis after junior coalition party decides to stay

PRAGUE – The Czech Republic's three-party coalition government has survived after a junior party changed its mind about quitting.

The crisis began Dec. 20 when Prime Minister Petr Necas fired Karolina Peake from the post of defense minister, just eight days after she was appointed.

Peake angered Necas by firing three senior ministry officials.

Peake and the centrist party she leads, the Liberal Democrats, quickly announced their ministers would quit Jan. 10. Without the party, the center-right government was unlikely to survive.

But on Tuesday, Peake said her party has changed its mind and would stay in the coalition, calling it a "pragmatic" decision.