Social Democrats may get chance for lower house speaker...

A member of the Social Democratic Party may be offered the chance to be speaker of the lower house. Late Monday, the right-of-centre Civic Democratic Party - which won last month's general election, and signed a collation deal with two smaller parties to form the next government, announced that it will offer the post to a Social Democrat MP in exchange for support in a vote of confidence. The three-party coalition, led by the Civic Democrats, is one mandate short of the majority needed to pass in a confidence vote.

One of the lead candidates for speaker of the lower house from the Social Democrats could be Lubomir Zaoralek, who has held the post over the last four years.