Talks between the top two Czechoslovak politicians holding the key to the country's future failed Tuesday, and Prime Minister-designate Vaclav Klaus said Czechoslovakia looked likely to split.
"The federation is lost," Klaus said after meeting Vladimir Meciar, leader of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), which swept the eastern region in a weekend general election."According to HZDS, even the common state is lost," Klaus said.
Klaus and Meciar met for six hours of talks after the elections highlighted deep differences between the two parts of the country.
Klaus's right-wing Civic Democratic Party (ODS) won in the western Czech republic, but Meciar's nationalist-minded HZDS swept the eastern region.
Voters overwhelmingly backed Meciar's platform of greater autonomy for Slovakia. He insisted that the region must declare sovereignty and take other steps that Czech politicians say would effectively break up the Czechoslovak federation.
Klaus said the HZDS wanted to create a sovereign Slovak state with international status and only then find a formulation for continued loose links with the Czech republic.
"In no way does the ODS have a mandate from voters for this," said Klaus, emerging from the meeting at a government villa in the central town of Brno.
He said a further meeting would be held in Prague Thursday, but was deeply pessimistic.
"The talks have shown deep, essential differences on Czechoslovakia's future set-up," Klaus added.
Meciar refused to comment but HZDS deputy chairman Milan Knazko said the agreement to meet again gave some hope.
Klaus said Meciar's side presented a new positive element by proposing that the issue of declaring a sovereign Slovak state should be solved by a referendum.
"In such a case, the only way would be to hold the same referendum with the same question in the Czech republic as soon as possible," Klaus said.
Previously, the HZDS has said it would declare sovereignty through the Slovak National Council (regional parliament).
Klaus said a new government must be formed quickly because the current government would not be able to deal with even the most essential issues.