Czech President Taps Leftist to Lead Cabinet Talks
President Milos Zeman on Thursday tapped Social Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka to form a government, likely a coalition as his leftist party fell far short of scoring an independent majority in October snap elections.
"If all goes well, I could even present the president with a proposed new government by the end of the year," Sobotka told reporters after the announcement.
Sobotka said his party would begin three-way talks on Monday with the populist ANO party of farming tycoon Andrej Babis -- which sprang from nowhere to a surprise second in the vote -- and the centrist Christian Democrats.
Together the parties would muster a majority of 111 seats in the 200-seat parliament.
The cabinet talks are the latest chapter in a months-long political saga sparked by a spy and bribery scandal that toppled former prime minister Petr Necas in June and led to last month's early election.
The 42-year-old Sobotka, a bespectacled career politician seen as short on charisma, had to overcome a rebellion within his party after faring worse than expected in the election.
The three potential coalition parties disagree on two key issues: a tax hike, backed by the Social Democrats (CSSD) but rejected by ANO, and changes to the religious property restitution law approved last year.
An EU member of 10.5 million people that has yet to join the eurozone, the Czech Republic shook off a record 18-month recession in the second quarter of this year but posted another slump in the third quarter.
The central bank expects the economy -- which is heavily dependent on car production and exports -- to contract by 0.9 percent this year before expanding by 1.5 percent in 2014.
Source: Agence France Presse
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