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The post-election deadlock has been complicated further with no new prime minister named, says Green Party leader Martin Bursik. In a televised debate on Sunday, Mr Bursik said party representatives might as well go off to their cottages as President Klaus has not entrusted anyone with the forming of a new government. Mr Bursik believes the President would like to see some kind of an alliance between the Civic Democrats and the Social Democrats in government to get him re-elected for a second term in 2008. A statement issued by the Presidential Office says Mr Klaus considers the allegations offensive.

The leader of the Civic Democrats Mirek Topolanek has met with President Vaclav Klaus to discuss possible solutions to the political stalemate that has gripped the country since the national election in June ended with an equally divided parliament. On Friday Mr Topolanek - whose party won the election - asked Mr Klaus to officially allow him to form the next government. He has in mind a Civic Democratic minority government that would seek support from all parliamentary parties except the Communists but including closest election rivals the Social Democrats.

Mr Topolanek stressed that if politicians weren't able to agree on such a solution, another option would be early elections.

So far, the president has decided not to broaden Mr Topolanek's mandate, opting to wait for further negotiations between the two largest parties.

Friday's developments, in any case, appear to be a final departure from Mr Topolanek's earlier plan to form a government with two other parties - the Christian Democrats and the Greens, which lacked a governing majority. It was categorically rejected by political rivals.

The lower house of parliament has set a new date for its next attempt to try and elect a new speaker: August 14th, in other words, in ten days. All candidates for the post will be nominated by August 11th. So far, the lower chamber has made five attempts to elect a chairman since a new parliament was elected, but without success. Following two months of deadlock, Civic Democrat chairman Mirek Topolanek launched new talks with outgoing Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek this week to try to negotiate a solution. Negotiations between the two are set to take place over the next two weeks.

Thirty people have been charged with illegally importing municipal waste from neighbouring Germany, allegedly making illegal profits in the tens of millions of crowns. According to district state attorney Zdenka Bendova, four of the thirty were key figures, leasing a farm in Libceves, north Bohemia, where several thousand tonnes of municipal waste were secretly stored between September 2005 and March 2006, when it was discovered that the site housed hazardous material. Other illegal dumps were also uncovered. The accused claim to have only imported material for recycling. Two have been remanded in custody, and it is possible that still more individuals will be charged.