Communists waiting to gauge real Social Democrat support for Svejnar

The Communist Party have suspended discussions on whether to back economist Jan Svejnar for the post of president in elections in early February, deputy leader Jiri Dolejs said. The Communists executive committee will wait to see whether Mr Svejnar has the genuine support of the Social Democrats; though the latter’s leader Jiri Paroubek has repeatedly expressed support for Mr Svejnar, the Communists believe some Social Democrat legislators may not actually back him in the bicameral vote. Jan Svejnar, who has spent most of his life in the USA, is supported by the Greens and is hoping to win the backing of the Christian Democrats. He is set to announce next week whether he is standing.