Sobotka says he will step down if he fails to put together government

Social Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka has admitted that Saturday’s result was less than he or his party expected but said his party would nevertheless try and form a stable government, while upholding programme priorities. On Saturday, he said he would head a negotiating team that would meet with all of the parties in the lower house, with the exception of the right-of-centre TOP 09 and the Civic Democrats. He also said that if he failed to put together a new government, he would step down.

On Saturday evening, members of the Social Democrats met for early talks with representatives of the Communist Party, including party leader Vojtěch Filip. The meeting lasted 45 minutes, and touched briefly on programme priorities and other areas, according to reports.