RPT-Czech parties begin talks with eye on early vote

(Repeats story published late on Monday)

PRAGUE, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Outgoing Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and his rightist Civic Democrats began talks on Monday with other parties in parliament hoping to reach a deal to dissolve the lower house and hold fresh elections in 2007.

Topolanek has been pushing for early elections to end the stalemate in the lower house, where centre-right parties and leftist parties each control exactly half of the 200 seats.

"We will continue to meet other parties tomorrow and we want to bring to (Prague) Castle a solution that will allow the president to name a new government," Topolanek said after meeting with the Green Party.

The Social Democrats, the second strongest party in parliament, have opposed an election next year apparently concerned by declining approval ratings, but have said they could accept fresh polls in the autumn of 2008.

Topolanek's party dominated the Senate elections over the weekend, and an aide to rightist President Vaclav Klaus said it was likely the Civic Democrats would receive a formal mandate in the coming days to lead talks on resolving the five month long stalemate in the lower house.

Klaus named Topolanek as prime minister last month, but his government subsequently lost a confidence vote in parliament.

Neither leftist nor rightist parties appear able to lure deputies from the other side to cross the floor, while Topolanek's party has ruled out a grand coalition with the rival Social Democrats.

Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek also said after meeting Topolanek on Monday afternoon that a grand coalition with the rightists was unrealistic.

Instead, Topolanek has been looking to clinch a deal with the other parties in parliament to create an interim government made up of technocrats that would have a limited agenda before an early election next spring.

The Civic Democrats hold 81 seats in the lower house, while the Social Democrats have 73. The centrist Christian Democrats have 13, while the Communists have 26 seats and the Green Party 6 seats. One former Social Democrat deputy is independent.

((Reporting by Jan Korselt, Writing by Alan Crosby, editing by Andras Gergely; prague.newsroom@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: alan.crosby.reuters.com@reuters.net; +420 224 190 477))

Keywords: CZECH POLITICS