(PRAGUE) - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said Monday an outgoing government may oversee the Czech Republic during its six-month EU presidency next year, the daily Hospodarske Noviny reported.

Topolanek's governing centre-right coalition is set to face a protest vote from the opposition by the end of the year over a scandal that has sent shock waves through his own Civic Democratic Party (ODS).

The scandal has put even more pressure on the government as it prepares to take over the EU presidency from France on January 1.

"I can envisage a government stripped of confidence (by parliament) until early elections are called for August 2009," Topolanek said, according to Hospodarske Noviny.

"I don't wish for this, I do not think it will turn out that way, but...we are thinking with our colleagues about how to face such a situation," he added.

If the opposition motion passes, the government will have to resign.

However, because the Czech constitution does not stipulate any deadline by which early elections must be called after a no-confidence vote, the government could remain in power throughout the term of the EU presidency.

As such, nothing would stop the government from putting off elections until August 2009, as currently scheduled.

The ruling coalition -- composed of the ODS party, the KDU-CSL Christian-Democrat party and the Green Party -- was rocked by a scandal earlier this month following a media sting.

Daily Dnes and TV Nova revealed how ODS lawmaker Jan Morava went to great lengths to gather compromising material on a rebel within his own party and a coalition rival.

In the set-up, Morava grasped the chance to get his hands on compromising photos of former finance minister and ODS rebel Vlastimil Tlusty, and tried to get photos of the young daughter of a Green Party deputy to help convince the deputy to tow the coalition line.

Unknown to Morava, Tlusty had posed for the photos with a half-naked woman as bait for the "blackmail" investigation run by the daily and broadcaster.

On September 9, Topolanek warned he would step down unless his government pushed through an internal clean-up and reforms.

Amid the scandal, the CSSD social democrat opposition announced it would prepare a protest vote to follow the senatorial and regional elections scheduled for mid-October.

In order to pass, the motion of censure would have to obtain an absolute majority (more than 101 out of 200 deputees).

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