Czech leftist leader says wants to halt govt talks

PRAGUE, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Czech leftist leader Jiri Paroubek said on Sunday he would urge his Social Democrats to end coalition talks with the Civic Democrats after reports the rightists were trying to lure deputies to cross the floor.

Centre-right and leftist parties have been locked in battle since a parliamentary election in June left each side with 100 seats in the lower house of parliament.

The deadlock has yet to hit the booming economy but has prevented the emergence of a strong, stable government able to carry out the reforms needed to prepare for the adoption of the euro currency after 2010.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's Civic Democrats have proposed a broad coalition government with the Social Democrats, the centrist Christian Democrats and the Green Party that would rule until an early election in the spring of 2008.

The Social Democrats, who prefer early elections in the second half of 2009, have been lukewarm to the idea and Paroubek had said his party would announce its official stance on Monday.

But after a weekend report by the leading daily Mlada Fronta Dnes that a Topolanek adviser had secretly met Social Democrat deputies to try to win their support for a rightist government, Paroubek said talks should be suspended.

"I will propose that our negotiating team halt the talks until Mr Topolanek sheds some light on things," Paroubek told journalists.

Miroslava Nemcova, a senior Civic Democrat parliamentary deputy, told state television the adviser in question was not a party leader and had no official mandate to hold talks.

The incident shows that a large gap remains between the two largest parties in attempts to end the deadlock that has lasted more than five months. ((Reporting by Alan Crosby, editing by Tim Pearce; prague.newsroom@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: alan.crosby.reuters.com@reuters.net; +420 224 190 477))

Keywords: CZECH POLITICS