Civic Democrats start new round of government discussions

The Civic Democrats have started a new round of discussions regarding the formation of a government. The Civic Democrats, who won the largest number of seats in the lower house in the June elections but do not have a majority, expect to be given a second chance to try and form a government. A first attempt by the Civic Democrats failed in early October, with the loss of a vote of confidence in the lower house. President Vaclav Klaus is now expected to give the Civic Democrats another opportunity to find a solution to the current government stalemate - this on the basis of the Civic Democrats' strong showing in the recent Senate elections.

The Civic Democrats are planning to hold discussions with all the parties in the lower house. On Monday morning, Civic Democratic chairman and acting Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek began talks with the Green Party, centering on ways to dissolve the lower house and call early elections. Mr. Topolanek has said that his aim is to bring the country to early elections. The Social Democratic Party chairman Jiri Paroubek remains opposed to the idea of early elections in the Czech Republic.