PRAGUE, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's minority government on Wednesday.
Klaus will begin talks with all five political parties in the lower house on Thursday. He has pledged several times to wait to nominate a new prime minister until after local and Senate elections that run until the end of the month.
Topolanek's minority government was ousted in a parliamentary confidence vote last week after a lower house deadlock caused by an inconclusive June general election that left leftist and centre-right parties with 100 seats each.
The cabinet will stay on in a caretaker capacity until Klaus appoints a new prime minister and government.
Under the constitution, Klaus can nominate anyone he chooses. His aides have said he is also considering pushing for the parties in parliament to agree on an interim technocrat government followed by early elections.
The local elections on Oct. 20-21, and the Senate vote the same weekend -- with a second round scheduled for Oct. 27-28 -- will not directly impact the situation in the lower house.
But politicians are watching the results to see if the four-month stalemate has hurt their parties and whether they would fare better or worse if early elections were held.
Czech financial markets have shrugged off the political turmoil but analysts have warned that political paralysis may hit the crown currency if it drags on for several more months. ((Reporting by Alan Crosby; Editing by Robert Woodward; prague.newsroom@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: alan.crosby.reuters.com@reuters.net; +420 224 190 477))
Keywords: CZECH POLITICS