Czech PM starts talks with eye on early elections

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has launched a new round of talks on forming a government that would end a five-month parliamentary stalemate and move the country towards early elections. After appointed PM for a second time, Mr Topolanek, chairman of the right-of-centre Civic Democrats, is now looking to form a broad coalition with his party's rivals the Social Democrats, the centrist Christian Democrats, and possibly the Green Party. The Social Democrats, who have lost ground in opinion polls, do not want elections until 2008 at the earliest. The Greens, on the other hand, support a spring 2007 vote.