The scandal reads like the script of a European television thriller, melding politics with human drama.
The pressure had been growing on the prime minister since Friday when his chief of staff, Jana Nagyova, was charged with corruption and abuse of power. Detectives said she was suspected of bribing MPs with jobs in state-owned companies.
Last week, police raided government offices and seized $8m worth of cash and gold. The chief of staff is also accused of ordering spying on Prime Minister Necas' wife.
Intriguingly, he said in his resignation speech that what he called the "twists and turns of his personal life" were a weight on the political situation in the country.
It is not clear if the president of the country will rule that there should be a new general election, or whether some form of the existing coalition government will continue with a different prime minister.
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