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Meanwhile, the Social Democrats, who won the second most votes during the general elections, say a party member will only stand for lower house speaker if he or she is the sole candidate for the post. Party leader and outgoing prime minister Jiri Paroubek also said on Tuesday that the Social Democrat candidate should have unconditional support in Parliament.

Mr Paroubek was referring to last week's offer by the opposition to support a Social Democrat under the condition that he or she pledges to consult all five parliamentary parties before appointing a prime minister, should two attempts at forming a government fail.

If the conflict between Israel and Lebanon persists for much longer the Czech Republic could suffer economic setbacks, deputy trade and industry minister Martin Tlapa said on Tuesday. The attacks could lead to the closing off of the ports in Haifa, making it difficult for Czech goods to reach the Israeli market. The Israeli government could also decide to put off plans to launch certain projects involving Czech companies, Mr Tlapa says. These include the public tender for the supply of government limousines or steam turbines. Rising oil prices will also affect the Czech market.

US military experts have arrived in the Czech Republic to find suitable localities for an anti-missile base. Following negotiations at the Defence Ministry in Prague, they travelled to a military base in Libava, north Moravian - one of the three possible sites. The other two are in Brdy, Central Bohemia, and Boletice, South Bohemia. The US experts will base their decision on the types of infrastructure, hydrology, geology and population density in the areas. According to the head of the military facility in Libava, Vladimir Kubisa, some local officials have been critical of the prospect of housing a US anti-missile base in the region.

Construction workers have begun to tear-down the remainder of a roof on a building that collapsed in the centre of Prague on Sunday morning. No one was hurt in Sunday's accident, but building crews are now at work to secure the site. Experts say that the building's façade is safe, and construction on the building will continue once the rubble is cleared and inspectors have completed their investigation. The cubist building used to house the popular U Mysaka café and is located on Prague's Vodickova Street, just a hundred meters from Wenceslas Square and the frequented Mustek metro station.