* Exit comes weeks before May election
* Topolanek taps election leader Necas as next chairman
(Adds quote, background)
By Robert Mueller
PRAGUE, April 1 (Reuters) - Former Czech prime minister
Mirek Topolanek said on Thursday he would resign as head of the
right-wing Civic Democratic Party, just two months before a
parliamentary election.
He told reporters he would resign after an April 12 meeting
of the party's executive committee summoned to resolve the
differences in the main Czech rightist party's leadership.
Topolanek, 53, quit as the party's leading candidate last
week after a series of gaffes and scandals that have alienated
his colleagues and damaged its standing before the vote.
He was replaced as election leader by Petr Necas, a
conservative untainted by graft accusations, who the party hopes
will revive its fledging popularity and narrow an up to 13-point
gap behind the leftist Social Democrats.
Topolanek said Necas should also lead the party after his
exit. "I have decided that I will prevent at all costs a
double-track (leadership) in the time before a regular congress
(in the autumn) and all my steps lead to having the present
election leader Petr Necas running the party".
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For graphs showing the development of support for the main
parties, click on http://r.reuters.com/veb24j and
http://r.reuters.com/hef34j
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Topolanek said he would resign after the executive committee
decides that Necas will lead the party until the congress.
The Czech Republic needs a strong government to push through
reforms and revamp the budget, which showed deficits even at
times of strong economic growth prior to the global financial
crisis.
The Czechs have had a caretaker cabinet led by Jan Fischer
for the past year after Topolanek's cabinet fell in a
no-confidence vote, midway through the Czechs' six-month
European Union presidency.
But polls show that while the Social Democrats will get the
largest share of the vote, they will fall short of a majority
and may have trouble finding partners to form a coalition.
This has made predicting the make-up of the next government
more difficult. Some politicians have said it may prompt the two
biggest parties to form a grand coalition, but it may also open
the way for centre-right or centre-left coalitions.
Topolanek led the Civic Democrats since 2002. He was a
strong supporter of close links with the United States and
tempered the party's earlier scepticism towards EU integration.
Necas is a conservative from the eastern Czech Republic,
with calm rhetoric and tight control of his public image, a stark
contrast to Topolanek's frequent public outbursts.
As former social affairs minister, Necas formulated the
party's policy of tightening social benefits and plans to reform
the pension system.
(Writing by Jan Lopatka and Jana Mlcochova)
