Svejnar to make announcement on candidature next week

Jan Svejnar is set to announce next week whether he will stand for president in elections in February. Speaking after a meeting with senators from the Christian Democrats on Tuesday, he said he would make a decision on the basis of the outcome of talks conducted by the leaderships of various parties. The Social Democrats and the Greens have already expressed support for Mr Svejnar, while the Communists have not ruled out backing him.

Jan Svejnar was born in Czechoslovakia but has spent most of his life in the USA, where he is a professor of economics.

The two houses of the Czech Parliament will take part in the presidential vote on February 8; the only candidate so far is the incumbent, Vaclav Klaus of the Civic Democrats.