Coalition talks underway in wake of municipal elections

Coalition talks have started in municipalities around the country in the wake of the weekend's municipal elections. Although independent candidates dominated the elections in smaller municipalities, coalitions in the big cities will involve the ruling parties and the opposition ANO party, which won considerable gains in the large regional cities.

The ruling parties won in the biggest cities Prague and Brno, as well as Plzeň, Liberec and Česke Budějovice, while the opposition ANO party dominated in eight regional towns: Hradec Králové, Jihlava, Karlovy Vary, Olomouc, Ostrava, Pardubice, Ústí nad Labem and Zlín.

The first coalition deal was agreed in the west Bohemian town of Plzeň, where the ANO party, the Mayors and Independents and the Pirate Party agreed to form a coalition government, bypassing the winner in the municipality, SPOLU.