The Czech president, Mr Vaclav Havel, was forced last night to agree to the formation of a minority Social Democratic government. Earlier two powerful foes had buried their differences in what looked liked a plot against him.
Mr Milos Zeman, the Social Democrat leader, struck a deal with his rival, the former rightwing prime minister, Mr Vaclav Klaus. This guarantees the tacit backing of Mr Klaus's Civic Democratic Party for the minority Zeman government, following elections two weeks ago which returned a hung parliament.
The agreement, resisted by Mr Havel and strongly criticised by the leaders of the smaller parties, could herald some radical changes in the Czech Republic. These might include revamping the constitution, trimming Mr Havel's powers, and altering the electoral system in favour of a first-past-the-post model.
The agreement followed two weeks of failed attempts to form left or right-wing coalitions mustering narrow parliamentary majorities. Both Mr Zeman and Mr Klaus, the leaders of the two biggest and until now bitterly opposed parties, argued that the deal was in the interests of national stability and the only way of making the country governable.
Mr Havel's main political adviser, Mr Jiri Pehe, described the scheme as "electoral fraud" since the tacit cohabitation deal followed an election campaign in which Mr Zeman and Mr Klaus fought one another fiercely and vowed there could be no truck between them.
The Social Democrats, taking 73 seats in the 200-seat parliament, emerged as victors in the poll for the first time since the 1989 Velvet Revolution toppled communism.
Mr Klaus's CDP, whose government fell in a corruption scandal last November, came second with 64 seats.
Mr Josef Lux, who expected a cabinet post as head of the small Christian Democrats in a coalition, charged that the agreement breached the constitution since it obliged Mr Klaus to forego calling votes of confidence in the government.
Mr Jan Ruml, head of the small Freedom Union and a former interior minister until he broke with Mr Klaus last year, also criticised the deal as a corrupt throwback to the days of communism and dictatorship.
The Social Democrats and the CDP between them can muster 137 votes, more than the twothirds majority needed to change the constitution. They may deploy that strength to belittle the president and curb his powers.
They are expected to use the same weapon to change the electoral system from PR to a firstpast-the-post one.