Social Democrats to decide on Svejnar next week

The opposition Social Democrats have said they will decide by next Saturday whether to officially back Czech-American economist Jan Svejnar for president. The news was revealed by party chairman Jiri Paroubek, after meeting with Mr Svejnar on Friday. The well-known economist, whose name was first put forward by the Greens, has also not yet decided whether to enter the race against incumbent Vaclav Klaus; he has been testing the political waters, next week scheduling talks with the Christian Democrats and members of the Communist Party. Social Democrat Jiri Paroubek has been urging the Communists to consider Mr Svejnar’s nomination.