Topolanek to quit if he fails to become prime minister after elections

Civic Democrat chairman Mirek Topolanek says he will resign if he is unable to form a government after elections next June. Mr Topolanek made the comment in a newspaper interview on the eve of his party's annual conference in Brno.

The right-wing Civic Democrats have been ahead in the opinion polls for some time but have conceded ground to the governing Social Democrats since Jiri Paroubek became prime minister this year.