Christian Democrats pull out of talks with Social Democrats

The Christian Democrats have said they are pulling out of talks on joining a left-of-centre coalition that would have needed to rely on the support from the communists to produce a parliamentary majority. On Thursday the party's leader Miroslav Kalousek surprised many within his own party when he agreed to talks with the head of the Social Democrats, Jiri Paroubek. He in turn had jettisoned negotiations with Prime Minister designate Mirek Topolanek. Mr Kalousek initially gained approval from his party's leadership, but on Friday many members of his party expressed dissatisfaction to the idea of entering a minority government relying on communist support.

On Friday, members of the party in three regions in the Czech Republic - Brno, Havirov, and Zlin - called on the party leaders to resign, while Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda told the CTK news agency that he had "never supported nor would support" the move by the leadership.

The party's decision to now scrap talks with the Social Democrats looks set to prolong a political stalemate which has lasted since the general elections ended in deadlock in June.