diff --git a/m4/ac_python_devel.m4 b/m4/ac_python_devel.m4
index 545c607..cbeda8a 100644
--- a/m4/ac_python_devel.m4
+++ b/m4/ac_python_devel.m4
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ $ac_distutils_result])
 	#
 	AC_MSG_CHECKING([for Python library path])
 	if type $PYTHON-config; then
-		PYTHON_LDFLAGS=`$PYTHON-config --ldflags`
+		PYTHON_LDFLAGS=`$PYTHON-config --libs --embed` || PYTHON_LDFLAGS=`$PYTHON-config --libs`
 	fi
 	if test -z "$PYTHON_LDFLAGS"; then
 		# (makes two attempts to ensure we've got a version number