Paroubek rejects possibility of Social Democrats governing with Communists on economic grounds

Speaking at an economic forum in Teplice on Friday Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek rejected the idea of the Social Democrats governing with the Communist Party following elections in June. Mr Paroubek rejected the idea on the basis of economic considerations, saying that - regardless of moral issues - any government following the Communists election programme would lead the country away from prosperity. At the same time, Mr Paroubek suggested that a government led by the right-of-centre Civic Democrats could be even more damaging. With elections less than two months away Czech politicians are gearing up for what some observers are saying could be a difficult election race. The latest surveys continue to show the opposition Civic Democrats ahead of Mr Paroubek's party. The Social Democrats' numbers have improved slightly, while support for the Green Party - recently surging in the polls - has declined somewhat, a new poll released by the Factum Agency has suggested.

The poll suggests that if elections were held today the only possible majority coalitions in the 200-member lower house would be that of the Civic Democrats together with the Christian Democrats and the Green Party (with an estimated 106 seats) or a grand coalition put together by the Social Democrats and the Civic Democrats (an estimated 121 seats).

Author: Jan Velinger