* President Klaus to name Petr Necas as PM
* Necas leading talks on centre-right coalition
* Coalition talks drag on disputes over minister posts
(Adds quotes, coalition talks)
By Jason Hovet
PRAGUE, June 27 (Reuters) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus
will name Civic Democrat leader Petr Necas as the next prime
minister on Monday, ushering in what should be the strongest
government in a decade to tackle economic reforms.
The Civic Democrats are leading coalition talks with two
other centre-right parties, TOP09 and Public Affairs, after the
three won a combined 118 seats out of 200 in a May 28-29
election with pledges of austerity and fighting corruption.
If the three parties agree on a coalition government they
would have a strong majority to kick-start key reforms in
pensions and healthcare compared with previous cabinets over the
last decade which lacked a strong enough majority and the will
to reform.
Talks between the parties have dragged because of disputes
over policy and ministerial posts, including who should run the
important finance ministry. Necas has said he wants a deal by
early July, in time to prepare the 2011 budget.
"Tomorrow at 10 a.m. I will name Petr Necas as prime
minister," Klaus said on Sunday in a live television interview.
Klaus accepted the resignation of caretaker Prime Minister
Jan Fischer on Friday ending a year-old interim cabinet that led
the country after the collapse of the previous centre-right
government. He will stay on until a new cabinet takes power.
Investors, analysts and rating agencies cheered the
centre-right victory as the best possible election outcome, and
most-likely grouping to make pension and health reform -- areas
in which the country of 10.5 million has lagged neighbours.
TOUGH TALKS STILL
The Czechs and other central European countries have mostly
kept public budgets under control in the economic crisis and
have debt levels lower than the European Union average.
But to meet the EU's 3 percent of GDP deficit ceiling in the
coming years, they all must find more savings.
The parties have agreed to cut the 2011 fiscal deficit to at
least 4.8 percent of economic output, from 5.3 percent planned
for 2010, by reducing money for state salaries and ministry
budgets across the board, among other measures.
The Civic Democrats would get six posts in the cabinet,
while conservative TOP09 and centrist Public Affairs would get
five and four seats.
However, TOP09 has pushed hard to have its vice-chairman and
former finance minister, Miroslav Kalousek, as head of the
finance ministry -- which many Civic Democrats have resisted.
Public Affairs, which along with TOP09 entered parliament
for the first time, has said it might not enter the coalition
but would support it in votes.
Party Vice-Chairman Vit Barta was quoted on Sunday as saying
there was still a chance of this.
"The chance that we will be directly in the government is
now about 20 percent. The probability is directly correlated to
an agreement on the government programme, and can grow," Barta
was cited as saying by online server iDnes.cz.
Another party official said on Sunday on Czech Television
that the party would not enter the government if Public Affairs
Chairman Radek John did not get the interior minister post.
(Editing by Matthew Jones)
