(Repeats story published late on Sunday)
* Czech leaders agree on new govt
* Statistician Jan Fischer to be new prime minister
* Early election to be held likely on Oct. 9-10
By Jan Korselt
PRAGUE, April 5 (Reuters) - Leaders of the main Czech
political parties agreed on Sunday to form an interim cabinet to
run the country until an early election, probably in October,
outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said.
He said he would propose Jan Fischer, the non-partisan head
of the statistical office, to lead the caretaker cabinet.
Topolanek's minority centre-right government lost a
no-confidence vote on March 24, halfway through the central
European country's six-month European Union presidency.
The government's collapse undermined the presidency and hurt
policy-making amid a sharp economic downturn.
"We want this news to give reassurance to the public that we
will have a stable government until an early election,"
Topolanek told a news conference after talks with other
political parties.
He said the government's duties would be to complete the
presidency, prepare the 2010 budget and help push through
measures against the economic downturn.
Topolanek said an early election would most probably be held
on Oct. 9-10, brought forward from mid-2010.
The agreement is subject to approval by leaderships of the
three parties in Topolanek's centre-right coalition and the
leftist opposition Social Democrats, which is expected in the
coming days.
The Social Democrats said they were happy with the choice of
the 58-year-old Fischer.
"This is a consensual proposal, Mr. Fischer is a very
experienced civil servant," Social Democrat chief Jiri Paroubek
said, adding none of the outgoing ministers would keep their
posts.
FISCHER READY TO TAKE OVER
The cabinet will have to be approved by Eurosceptic
President Vaclav Klaus, who has the sole right to appoint prime
ministers. Klaus has said he would respect an agreement among
the main political parties, who together have a comfortable
majority in the lower house of parliament.
Fischer, who has worked at the statistical bureau since
graduating from the statistics and econometrics in 1974, will
accept the nomination if Klaus agrees, his spokesman said.
Fischer's cabinet should take over from Topolanek on May 9.
The Czech EU presidency ends on June 30.
The Czech government collapse was the result of personal
rivalries and defections from the government camp over the past
months and has less to do with the global financial crisis that
felled governments in Hungary and Latvia.
The country has seen a drop of more than a fifth in
industrial output and exports, but its banks have been stable
and the currency recovered from losses earlier this year, thanks
to low overall debt and low exposure to foreign credit.
If Fischer is confirmed in office it would end speculation
among some analysts that Klaus might appoint a Eurosceptic
cabinet that could halt ratification of the EU's Lisbon treaty,
meant to streamline decision-making in the 27-member bloc.
The treaty has been ratified by vast majority of EU member
states. It still has not been signed by the Polish president and
it faces a constitutional challenge in Germany.
The Irish rejected the treaty in a referendum but plan to
hold a new vote later this year. The upper house of the Czech
parliament is expected to vote on it in late April or early May.
For a FACTBOX on Fischer, please click on []
(Writing by Jan Lopatka)
