FACTBOX-Czech party positions in government talks

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Leaders of the five political parties in Czech parliament will hold talks with President Vaclav Klaus on Friday in an attempt to forge a deal on a new government and possible early elections.

An election in June produced a stalemate with both leftist and centre-right parties each gaining 100 seats in the lower house. A minority government tried and failed to win a confidence vote in September.

Klaus has urged the leaders to reach a quick deal and that he would only nominate a new prime minister if that person could clearly show he has enough support of parliament to win a confidence vote.

CIVIC DEMOCRATS (81 seats in parliament)

* The largest party in parliament, the rightist party of outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has been pressing for a deal that would see the creation of an interim technocrat government, and early elections in the spring of 2007. The party was recently buoyed by its dominant performance in Senate and municipal elections, though the outcome of these votes did not change the power balance in the lower house. The Civic Democrats have rejected a grand coalition with the Social Democrats.

SOCIAL DEMOCRATS (73 seats in parliament)

* The leftist party of former prime minister Jiri Paroubek has refused early elections. It wants a grand coalition with the Civic Democrats to rule for a minimum of two years.

He has said that he believes he could form a government of his own, though he has refused to say how. His standing has been slightly weakened by the strong performance of the Civic Democrats in elections, and by the defection of one deputy, who has chosen to leave the party faction and sit as an independent.

COMMUNIST PARTY (26 seats in parliament)

* The Communists have said they may support early elections if given a say in the formation of an interim government. However, most analysts agree that after worse than expected results in both the June election and the recent Senate and municipal votes, the Communists would prefer waiting as long as possible before polls are taken. The Communists would support the Social Democrats if they tried to form a government, but would not expect to receive any posts in cabinet. No centre or right parties will work with the Communists due to their past and lack of apology over the Soviet-backed era when they ruled.

CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS (13 seats in parliament)

* The centrist party has tried to position itself as a buffer between the Social Democrats and Civic Democrats. It is proposing a broad coalition government before any early polls. The party's position is seen as a sticking point for breaking any impasse since it insists that Social Democrats are part of any solution, while they will not participate in any deal that needs Communist support. If they stick to this, it means that only a deal with the support of both the Social Democrats and the Civic Democrats would be possible since no other combination would have the three-fifths majority needed in the lower house to dissolve parliament and call early elections.

GREEN PARTY (six seats in parliament)

* Not a major player in the talks since their six seats are not enough to tip the balance of power. They want an interim government with early elections as quickly as possible. ((Reporting by Alan Crosby; editing by Elizabeth Piper: prague.newsroom@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: alan.crosby.reuters.com@reuters.net; +420 224 190 477))

Keywords: CZECH POLITICS