Czech president asks party leader to lead coalition formation talks

President Vaclav Klaus on Friday asked the leader of the right-wing Civic Democratic Party to lead talks on forming the next government after center-right parties won a decisive victory in elections last weekend.

The move came after Civic Democrats (ODS) leader Petr Necas informed Klaus of plans to form a government with the conservative TOP09 and centrist Public Affairs parties. The trio won a combined 118 seats in the 200-member lower house, which could give it the largest majority of any government since the nation came into existence in 1993.

The leftist Social Democrats won the vote with 22 percent but conceded they have little chance of forming a government.

The president expected to be informed of the talks' results within two weeks. The mandate given Necas was a traditional political act rather than an official appointment.

The soft-spoken Necas has played an important role in the ODS since 1992, when he was elected a member of the parliament.


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