Vlcek remains speaker following brief lower house session

The session of the lower house formally lasted just fifteen minutes on Wednesday with Social Democrat MP Miloslav Vlcek staying on for the time being as the chamber's speaker. Originally, the Social Democrats had hoped to pave the way for Mr Vlcek's resignation and subsequent re-election ahead of Friday's confidence vote. Mr Vlcek is bound by a public promise he made to step down ahead of a possible third attempt to form a government. His subsequent re-election would have guaranteed that as speaker he would have been responsible for appointing the next prime minister designate, in the event that the government's failed to secure a majority.

As it stands now the current coalition led by the Civic Democrats is now expected to win its confidence vote on Friday. It is unclear how long Mr Vlcek will now remain as speaker of the lower house, or whether the Social Democrats will push for their leader Jiri Paroubek to replace him.