EU-ambassadeur kandidaat voor opvolging Gross als premier Tsjechië (en)

The Czech prime minister, Stanislav Gross, has offered his resignation after only nine months in government.

Mr Gross was forced to make the move following pressure from his coalition partners after a scandal about how he paid for his luxury apartment.

The scandal broke out at the beginning of the year when Czech newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes pointed out that the flat had cost more than Mr Gross had ever earned.

Mr Gross has denied any wrongdoing but fuelled speculation by giving contradictory explanations about how he was able to afford the flat.

Mr Gross, who at 35 took office last year as Europe's youngest leader, said that the Czech ambassador to the EU, Jan Kohout, was the Social Democrat's choice to succeed him.

''This concept could be a way out of the current stalemate," he said, according to agency reports.

However, it is not clear whether Mr Kahout would be acceptable to the Christian Democrats, who walked out of the three-party coalition at the end of March.

On Sunday (10 April) Mr Kohout said that discussions on forming a new government should start in the coming days with the Christian Democrats and the other coalition partner, the Freedom Union.

If no agreement is found, then Mr Gross would continue in power as head of a minority government.