Public Affairs (VV) de facto leader Vít Bárta, who resigned as transport minister in the wake of allegations of corruption and further evidence his old security firm spied on politicians, recently performed a “financial striptease” in the name of transparency in government. What he didn’t reveal is how he partly avoided paying corporate income tax via some creative remuneration and accounting practices.

The Prague nightclub Abaton is advertising what it claims will be the “roughest party in town” on April 16. Piercing, piercing chains, scarring, branding, hanging on hooks, bondage, fetish S&M, latex, blood, pain, hardcore music… But the posters and flyers are misleading. The roughest party is playing out in Parliament, with Public Affairs (VV) de facto boss Vít Bárta calling the tunes.

Public Affairs (VV) began to fall apart in a very public way on Thursday. Deputy chairwoman and parliamentary group leader Kristýna Kočí was expelled from the party after filing a criminal complaint against Transport Minister Vít Bárta, the party paymaster, that he had given some her some Kč 500,000 in cash, presumably to buy her loyalty. In total, three VV parliamentary deputies have now been expelled from the party in the so-called “cash for loyalty” affair.

Even before the “cash for loyalty” scandal, public support for the junior coalition partner Public Affairs (VV) and its top leaders, Interior Minister Radek John and Transport Minister Vít Bárta, had fallen significantly since the May 2010 elections, when the party got 10.88 percent of the popular vote. John has gone from being the most favorably ranked politician to being the second-most untrusted.