Czech PM survives parliament vote

But Mr Gross's Social Democrats might lose their only remaining coalition partner, the right-wing Freedom Union-Democratic Union.

Mr Gross will now lead a minority government propped up by the largely unreformed Communists.

That will be controversial in a country ruled for 40 years by the Communists, the BBC's Prague correspondent says.

The parliamentary crisis was precipitated by one of Mr Gross's centre-left coalition partners, the Christian Democrats, who walked out in protest against his financial affairs.

They included revelations that his wife's business partner rents out a building to a brothel.

The 41 Communist MPs' action deprived the opposition centre-right Civic Democrats of victory in their effort to bring Mr Gross down.

President Vaclav Klaus, a co-founder of the Civic Democrats, has said he will not accept the resignation of the three Christian Democrat ministers who walked out this week until Mr Gross submits a new cabinet for parliamentary approval.

Mr Gross, Europe's youngest prime minister at 35, denies any financial wrongdoing.