PRAGUE, June 4, 2006 (Xinhua) -- Czech politicians started talks Sunday on forming the next government after parliamentary elections resulted in a virtual tie between the left and the right.
The official results showed that the right- and left-wing blocs each won 100 seats in the 200-member lower house of parliament, which means neither bloc can assemble a future government alone.
The rightist Civic Democrats, led by Mirek Topolanek, emerged as the biggest single party and took 81 seats, the centrist Christian Democrats took 13 and the Green Party six. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek's leftist Social Democrats captured 74 seats, while the Communists won 26.
Communist leader Vojtech Filip, at a specially convened press conference early Sunday called for a government of national unity combining all five parties in parliament.
"I have not consulted with anyone, this is the standpoint of the Communist party," Filip said, adding that he wanted to announce the initiative ahead of a televised debate between party leaders set for mid-day.
However the prospect of a national unity government is dim as the other parties have said they would not form a government with the Communists.
Political analyst pointed out that a grand coalition between the Civic Democrats and the Social Democrats might be the only solution to the current stalemate while other possibilities would be fragile. However, such an alliance had been ruled out by the leaders of both parties during a bitter campaign that deepened the differences between them.
The two main parties are divided on many points, with the Social Democrats offering social justice, solidarity and progressive taxes, while the Civic Democrats promise a flat 15-percent tax, a smaller state bureaucracy and renewed privatizations.
Paroubek refused to concede his defeat on Saturday night, citing what he called "slanderous" attacks on him days before voting. He indicated that he was considering challenging the validity of the elections because of the nature of the campaign.
Civic Democrats will be given the first shot at solving the apparent deadlock. Czech President Vaclav Klaus announced Saturday night that he would ask the Civic Democrats on Monday to launch negotiations over forming a new government. Enditem
