RPT-Czech leftists to propose grand coalition govt

(Repeats story published on Oct 15)

PRAGUE, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The Czech Social Democrats approved on Sunday a proposal to push for a grand coalition with the rightist Civic Democrats for a limited period to end a political stalemate created by an inconclusive June election.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's minority government was ousted in a parliamentary confidence vote last week amid a lower house deadlock caused by the general election that saw leftist and centre-right parties each win 100 seats.

The Social Democrats, who came second in the election behind Topolanek's Civic Democrats, said a grand coalition similar to one formed after the election in Germany, would bring political stability to the country.

They added that the government would rule for two years before an early election halfway through the regular electoral period.

"I would not be a member in such a government," Social Democrat leader and former Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said ahead of the party leadership meeting where the proposal was unanimously approved.

Paroubek and Topolanek clashed often during the election campaign, and have since been locked in a bitter battle to get the upper hand in parliament.

By pledging not to be a member of the government that his party would support, Paroubek's move appears to be aimed at luring the Civic Democrats away from their position of wanting a technocrat government to rule until early elections next spring.

Prague Mayor Pavel Bem, a senior Civic Democrat, called the Social Democrat move a non-starter in an interview on Czech state television.

The three other parties in parliament -- the centrist Christian Democrats, the Green Party and the far-left Communists have all said they are against a grand coalition as it would marginalise their power in the lower house.

President Vaclav Klaus is to meet with Topolanek on Monday, and has urged all of the parties to find a "stable solution" to the crisis or agree on early elections.

Topolanek is also likely to be emboldened to reject the Social Democrat proposal after a poll by the private agency STEM showed on Sunday his party has nearly a 10 percentage point lead over his leftist rivals among an electorate where more than 60 percent want early elections to end the crisis.

The poll, which put the Civic Democrats at 32 percent support, showed the Social Democrats had fallen to 22.7 percent from a previous 26.6 percent in a similar survey in September. ((Reporting by Alan Crosby, editing by Stephen Weeks; prague.newsroom@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: alan.crosby.reuters.com@reuters.net; +420 224 190 477))

Keywords: CZECH POLITICS