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Last Friday's presidential election and its repercussions on the Czech political scene remain in the centre of interest. Rarely does the election of a new head of state make such an impact, says Lidove Noviny. Vaclav Klaus' election victory could even topple the governing coalition.

All of today's front pages report on Monday's government decision to seek a vote of confidence. LIDOVE NOVINY features three successive photographs - a smiling, a pensive, and a sad Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and while all papers say he had made the right move, they also warn of it being a risky step. President-elect Vaclav Klaus also makes the front pages with his shocked reaction to the physical state of Prague Castle.

All today's papers devote their front pages to the newly elected Czech President Vaclav Klaus and speculation about what his election will imply for the ruling coalition and its largest partner, the Social Democrats.

Naturally, all the papers are dominated by today's elections, the third attempt to elect a successor to Vaclav Havel. With the exception of Pravo, all of the dailies carry photos of the two candidates, Jan Sokol and Vaclav Klaus, on their front pages.

The presidential elections will take place in less than a day's time, and the newspapers are filled with pages of reports on the two presidential candidates, Jan Sokol and Vaclav Klaus, and their chances of winning. Hospodarske Noviny's opinion poll shows that around two thirds of the public would prefer to see Vaclav Klaus elected as president, while a third would like Jan Sokol. But most respondents do not believe that either candidate will be a better president than Vaclav Havel.

The two rivals for president - Vaclav Klaus and Jan Sokol - are featured on all of today's front pages - and, symbolically, flanking them in many photographs are two senior communist deputies, with broad smiles on their faces. "This presidential election is very much in the hands of the communists" says Lidove Noviny, "Signing a blood pact with the devil" echoes .

All the papers have found some way to remind readers of the 55th anniversary of the communist take-over on 25 February,1948. In addition to special supplements devoted to the years of communist rule, many connections are made with the present day.

The papers today are dominated by the case of the collapsed bank Union banka and the alleged tapping of several Czech MPs' offices. MLADA FRONTA DNES and PRAVO carry large photos of 55-year-old Czech pop-star Helena Vondrackova wearing a wedding dress and carrying a bouquet of white roses. On Saturday, the pop legend married 44-year-old businessman Martin Michal at the medieval Karlstejn castle west of Prague.

All of today's dailies cover the same main stories. On the international front, it is Russia's open opposition to a war against Iraq and French President Chirac welcoming Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe in Paris that are making headlines. Domestically it's the death of a Nigerian diplomat and the collapse of the Czech bank, Union Banka, that have made the front pages.

The top stories in today's papers include a tragic shooting Wednesday of a Nigerian diplomat in Prague, as well as important developments on the Czech political scene. On Wednesday the Social Democrats, senior partners in the governing coalition, finally rallied to support one candidate in a third round of presidential elections, and their choice, Jan Sokol, is shown on the cover of HOSPODARSKE NOVINY. The sixty-six-year-old philosophy professor has now acquired the necessary support and momentum to make a relatively strong run against the Civic