Gross to try to form new Czech government

Czech President Vaclav Klaus asked Social Democrat chief Stanislav Gross to try to form a new government yesterday but a lack of parliamentary majority and demanding coalition partners pose a daunting challenge.

Mr Gross took over the Social Democrats last weekend after former Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla resigned as party leader and prime minister in the wake of poor results in European Parliament elections.

Mr Klaus told Mr Gross to avoid working with the Communist Party and secure support in parliament before he will appoint him as premier.

"You will find a solution which will secure such majority support in the lower house of parliament which will be trustworthy for me and positively accepted by the wide Czech and international public," said Mr Klaus, former leader of the right-wing Civic Democrats.

The 34-year-old Gross has already said his government would not rely on the Communists, a reassurance to financial markets which feared their involvement would disrupt plans by the new European Union entrant to join the euro zone by 2010. Mr Gross, a former train technician, wants to make a deal with the same two centre-right parties which formed the last administration under Mr Spidla. But he needs to find at least one further vote from the opposition or independents.

The Social Democrats need the vote to avoid early elections because they fear they would fare badly.

Mr Gross is a skilful behind-the-scenes negotiator who does not cling too firmly to ideology, allowing him to be more flexible on policy. The Social Democrats hope to revive their fortunes with Mr Gross before the next general election due in 2006.

The Social Democrats want to push more left-wing policies in the next government, which analysts say would harm economic growth already lagging behind other central European countries.

But any big shift away from cautious fiscal tightening is unlikely because their coalition partners, the centrist Christian Democrats and rightist Freedom Union, insist on keeping reforms on track.