Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has launched a new round of talks on
forming a government that would end a five-month parliamentary stalemate
and move the country towards early elections. After appointed PM for a
second time, Mr Topolanek, chairman of the right-of-centre Civic
Democrats, is now looking to form a broad coalition with his party's
rivals the Social Democrats, the centrist Christian Democrats, and
possibly the Green Party. The Social Democrats, who have lost ground in
opinion polls, do not want elections until 2008 at the earliest. The
Greens, on the other hand, support a spring 2007 vote.