Paroubek calls on small parties to explain why communists are dangerous

In related news, the Social Democratic leader Jiri Paroubek has called on the smaller parties in the lower house, the Christian Democrats and the Greens, to publicly explain exactly how relying on the support of the Communist Party to bolster a coalition of Social Democrats, Christians Democrats and Greens is dangerous. Mr. Paroubek said that if the smaller parties do not provide concrete reasons for refusing to collaborate with the Communist Party, they are then "giving priority to unproductive anticommunism, rather than to fulfilling their own electoral promises."

Both the Christian Democrats and the Greens made public statements on Monday, confirming that they have no intention of participating in a coalition government that would be dependent on the votes of Communist Party MPs. The coalition of Social Democrats, Christian Democrats, and Greens that Mr. Paroubek is proposing would depend on support from the Communist Party in order to survive a vote of confidence.