The Czech President Vaclav Havel, has appointed a new government led by the former head of the central bank, Josef Tosovsky. A mix of non-party figures and prominent centre-right politicians, it will only rule until early elections can be held later this year. Mr Tosovsky has said it will be an active government and as Ray Furlong reports from Praque, he has warned Czechs that another tough year awaits them.

The government sworn in at Prague castle today is only an interim one, but Josef Tosovsky made it clear that he would not just be keeping an eye on things until elections can be held later in the year. Aside from stressing that talks on joining Nato would continue, he also indicated his resolve to push ahead with more controversial policies.

Mr Tosovsky insisted that further economic reforms were needed, including privatisation. And another key task would be to restore public confidence in politics, by making governments more accountable as well as by reforming rules for party financing, the issue which brought down the previous Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus.

But how much of this Mr Tosovsky achieves, depends on how long he will be allowed to govern. It's likely his mandate will run out in June, but it could last until November, if Mr Tosovsky secures the support of enough deputies from Mr Klaus's Civic Democratic Party or ODS.