Co Čech, to simulant... Czech computer programmers get to grips with the electoral arithmetic

As the deadlocked government talks proceed in Prague with the stakes - in Czech terms, at least - rising every higher, the ever popular themes of early elections and electoral reform rear their heads once again. A small cottage industry seems to have developed among the many computer programmers in the Czech Republic seems to be the writing of election simulation software. Most date from 1999-2001 when reforming the voting system was last a really politically hot potato . Jan Adamec, for example, has a widely used Czech election simulation program downloadable as freeware, which also has 2002 results in it, but it can, I think, be used to play around with the 2006 figures in a rough and ready way and do some speculative mathmatics on what early elections and electoral reform might bring this time round. It's a little fiddly to install, but does the job.

Mr Adamec also has Bridge and interior design programs, but I gave these a miss. I wonder if he can design one for political poker. Does Jiří Paroubek have an ace up his sleeve, as a nervous President Klaus fears, or is he bluffing...