Czech PM says election is only way out of crisis

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Early elections are the only way out of a political crisis following the ouster of the Czech center-right government midway through the country's EU presidency, outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said.

Topolanek will submit his resignation to President Vaclav Klaus later on Thursday after losing a no-confidence vote on Tuesday which weakened the crown currency and undermined policymaking amid a severe economic downturn.

The eurosceptic Klaus has the sole right to appoint the new prime minister and until the nominee forms his cabinet, the three-party administration will remain in office, possibly until the Czech Republic's EU presidency finishes at the end of June.

The cabinet's fall was triggered by personal rivalries within Topolanek's right-wing Civic Democrats.

"It is such a stalemate and it has hurt the Czech Republic so much that the only chance is an early election as soon as possible," Topolanek said on Czech Television late on Wednesday.

The constitution makes it hard to organize early elections, and analysts have predicted a protracted political stalemate.

Topolanek has demanded that Klaus re-appoints him as prime minister, and said he would not support any other candidate.

Klaus, a Civic Democrat but a political foe of Topolanek, has made no comment on whom he would choose. A Klaus aide has said Topolanek should not automatically get another chance.

Defectors from Topolanek's minority administration -- some of them allies of Klaus -- sided with the leftist opposition on Tuesday to defeat the government, and Topolanek blamed Klaus for helping to orchestrate the crisis.

Klaus has criticized Topolanek's cabinet for its broadly pro-European policies, including support for the EU's Lisbon treaty.

The treaty is meant to streamline decision-making in the bloc, which has grown form 15 to 27 members in the past five years. It has been approved in most European countries but has been stuck in the Czech upper house, the Senate, where many Civic Democrats oppose it.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra said on Wednesday it would be tougher to convince them to support the treaty after the government collapse.

(Reporting by Jana Mlcochova; editing by Philippa Fletcher)