Klaus criticises failure to form government in New Year's address

In his traditional New Year's Day address, President Vaclav Klaus hit out at the failure of political parties to form a new government since elections in June. He said seven months without a government capable of surviving a vote of confidence was a record, and one of which the Czech Republic could not be proud.

The president compared the post-election stalemate, in which the lower house is evenly divided between left and right, to a "civil cold war". He said the Czech state had often paid the price in the past for lacking "internal unity".

Mr Klaus also warned against efforts to revive the European Union constitution under Germany's presidency. He said the EU offered new opportunities and removed unnecessary barriers, but also organised, regulated and controlled the lives of citizens; Czechs should do their best to ensure the first mentioned aspects prevail.