News | All stories

The leader of the Freedom Union, Hana Marvanova, resigned on Thursday explaining she was not satisfied with the results of the coalition talks between her party, the Christian Democrats and the ruling Social Democrats. Ms Marvanova said, however, that as an MP for the Freedom Union she was ready to vote in favour of the future government in a parliamentary confidence vote. Hana Marvanova says she plans to remain a member of the Freedom Union and does not want the party to be shaken by her step. According to the party statutes, the Freedom Union is now to be led by the first deputy chairman Ivan Pilip who failed to be elected to the lower house in the mid-June general elections.

Mr Pilip, the interim head of the Freedom Union, told journalists that despite the resignation of its chairwoman, the Freedom Union wants to successfully complete talks on a coalition government with the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats. Ivan Pilip said he would not seek any ministerial post in the future government and would not even run for the post of party chairman. On Monday Mr Pilip will start debate on when to call an extraordinary national conference of the Freedom Union.

Following the resignation of Hana Marvanova, the leader of the Social Democrats, Vladimir Spidla, met representatives of the Freedom Union and the Christian Democrats, the two partners in the Coalition grouping. After the meeting, Mr Spidla told journalists that negotiations on the future government were not threatened and they were to continue. The leadership of the Social Democrats is to discuss the matter on Friday.

The chairman of the Christian Democrats, Cyril Svoboda, described the resignation of Hana Marvanova as an unfortunate step, considering the nearly completed negotiations on the new coalition government. The deputy chairman of the Christian Democrats Jan Kasal said the whole Coalition grouping, that is the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union, were going to be affected by Ms Marvanova's move but he expressed hope the coalition talks would not be threatened.

The Social Democrats have agreed on the forming of a new government with the two parties in the Coalition grouping, the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union. After talks on Wednesday night, the leader of the Christian Democrats, Cyril Svoboda, said that negotiations on the division of ministries should be completed in the next few days. The Social Democrats, who are led by Prime Minister-to be Vladimir Spidla and came first in elections almost three weeks ago, are to have 10 cabinet seats; the other two parties will have six between them. The number of deputy chairs in the Chamber of Deputies will reflect the number of seats held by all five parties in the lower house. The Social Democrats will have the chairmanship and one deputy chair, the Civic Democrats two deputy chairs and the other parties, including the Communists, will have one each.

In the wake of the country's two day parliamentary elections President Havel has been meeting with political leaders to discuss the formation of a new government. In the course of Sunday the President met with the leader of the Social Democrats, Vladimir Spidla, whose party won over 30% of the vote, the head of the Civic Democrats Vaclav Klaus who suffered a stinging defeat at the hands of the Social Democrats getting only 23% , and the leaders of the Coalition grouping, made up of the centrist Christian Democrats and the liberal Freedom Union, which did worse than expected with just over 14% of the vote. Although the Communist Party did unexpectedly well in the elections placing third with over 18 % of the vote the President has refused to meet with them on the grounds that they do not belong among the democratic forces in Parliament.

The President said he would officially ask one of the party leaders to begin talks on putting together the country's next Cabinet on Monday. Mr. Havel admitted that, under the circumstances, he personally favored a coalition between the Social Democrats and the two centre-right Coalition parties.

Meanwhile, the Social Democrat leader Vladimir Spidla, who is positioned to become the country's next prime minister, is preparing for talks with potential coalition partners. Mr. Spidla has ruled out a coalition with both the Civic Democrats and the Communists, saying that he would first talk to the leaders of the centre-right Coalition. A governing coalition between the Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union is seen as the most likely set-up although it would command only a slim one-vote majority in Parliament. If these talks fail, the Social Democrat leader has said he is not ruling out a minority government with the support of one or more parliamentary parties.

The Communist party has protested against efforts to marginalize its influence on Czech politics, despite its relatively high rate of support. Communist Party leader Miroslav Grebenicek told journalists that the party had prepared a three member negotiating team and was ready to join the talks. We find it hard to believe that the Social Democrats would want to uphold a long outdated party resolution about not cooperating with the Communists, Mr. Grebenicek said, referring to a pledge that the Social Democrats made after the fall of communism in an effort to distance themselves from the Communists and build a credible party in their own right. The Communists claim that the Social Democrats should reconsider this pledge because it is allegedly against the wishes of 18% of the electorate. The Social Democrats show no intention of doing so.

Vaclav Klaus, the head of the centre right Civic Democratic Party has openly admitted defeat, saying, shortly after his meeting with President Havel, that his party had little choice but to go into opposition . Mr. Klaus refrained from commenting on his own uncertain future, refusing to say whether he would accept full responsibility for the party's show down and resign from his post. He told journalists that he must first consult the matter with the party leadership . The election results appear to rule out any ambitions of a return to power for the 60 year old former economics professor and his chances of becoming the next Czech president are slim.

Reactions from abroad to the outcome of the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic has been generally positive. The EU commissioner for enlargement Gunter Verheugen said the election results confirmed the Czech Republic's pro- EU orientation and presented the country as a stable democracy. A positive assessment has likewise come from deputies of the European Parliament. German officials have likewise welcomed the idea of a government with a strong pro-EU orientation and the Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda has described the election results as "encouraging for future cooperation". Observers from the OSCE / Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe/ said the elections had been free and fair.