Jiri Paroubek denies offer of grand coalition

Jiri Paroubek, chairman of the Social Democrats, held a press conference on Monday morning to clarify interpretations based on his appearance on Sunday's TV talk show program hosted by Vaclav Moravec. Mr. Paroubek says that he did not offer the Civic Democrats a grand coalition arrangement during the TV debate, as was widely reported by the media. Mr. Paroubek said that he views the possibility of a grand coalition as one of four possible options for resolving the government vacuum in place since the June elections resulted in a political deadlock. The other options listed by the Mr. Paroubek include a coalition government composed of the Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Greens, which would need to rely on support from the Communist Party in order to count on at least 101 seats in the lower house; and a caretaker government; or a Social Democratic minority government. In Sunday's TV debate, Mr. Paroubek said that he would not have a role to play in the case of a grand coalition between the Civic Democrats and the Social Democrats.

The Civic Democrats have dismissed the possibility of a grand coalition with the Social Democrats. Mirek Topolanek, the Civic Democratic leader and his deputies met with President Vaclav Klaus at Prague Castle Monday afternoon; Mr. Klaus told the press that he is also opposed to a grand coalition.