Party leaders resume talks on new government

Party leaders have resumed talks on forming a new government, ahead of a scheduled meeting with President Vaclav Klaus on Friday. The Civic Democratic Party, which won the recent Senate and local elections, is likely to receive a formal mandate from president Klaus in the next few days and its leader Mirek Topolanek has taken the initiative in the negotiations. In a meeting with his main rival Social Democrat Jiri Paroubek, Mr. Topolanek firmly ruled out a grand coalition and is now seeking to secure support for a caretaker government which would lead the country to early elections in 2007. Talks with the Green Party and the Christian Democrats have established growing support for a "rainbow" cabinet.

A growing number of parties have expressed readiness to amend the Constitution in such a way as to facilitate early elections. The proposed bill stipulates that Parliament could be dissolved with the consent of a three-fifths majority in the lower house. The Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats, the Greens and the Communists have all expressed willingness to support it.