RPT-Czech PM expected to present cabinet on Thursday

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Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has almost completed talks on forming a new cabinet and plans to meet President Vaclav Klaus on Thursday, when he is expected to present his team.

Klaus's office said on Wednesday Topolanek would meet Klaus at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT), indicating he expected talks on the new cabinet to be completed by then.

Topolanek's rightist Civic Democrats are trying to form a government with the Christian Democrats and the Greens to end a political stalemate in the central European EU member country that has lasted since an inconclusive election in June.

The three parties have just 100 seats in the 200-seat lower house, and need the support of rebels from the leftist Social Democratic Party to survive a confidence vote required by the constitution once a government is appointed.

"Personnel issues have almost been completed," Green Party chief Martin Bursik told reporters, adding that individual party leaderships still needed to discuss details.

If the new cabinet survives an initial confidence vote, it will try to push reforms aimed at cutting budget deficits and revamping the pension, social and health care systems.

The country needs to cut its growing budget deficit so that it can adopt the euro currency after 2010.

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]