Chain-smoking Czech President Milos Zeman, who once confessed to daily diet of nine alcoholic drinks, wins second term
Milos Zeman has divided the nation with his pro-Russia stance, support for closer ties with China, and strong anti-migrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric
The Czech Republic’s pro-Russia president won a second five-year term after beating a political newcomer viewed as more Western-oriented in a run-off vote.
President Milos Zeman’s victory confirmed the political direction set during the country’s parliamentary election, the result of which was seen as part of an anti-establishment wave sweeping Western democracies.
Zeman is a close ally of populist billionaire Andrej Babis, whose ANO (YES) movement scored a landslide victory in the October election.
With the two men in charge, the Czech Republic is likely to become more critical of European Union policies on issues such as immigration.
“We can expect the government to be less pro-Western than the previous government,” Josef Mlejnek, a scholar of democracy and Central Europe at Prague’s Charles University said.
With all the votes counted, the Czech Statistics Office said Zeman received 51.4 per cent of the vote during the two-day run-off election.
His opponent, former Czech Academy of Sciences head Jiri Drahos, whose views are closer to the European mainstream, garnered 48.6 per cent.
The Czech Constitution limits presidents to two terms.
Appearing before supporters Saturday, Zeman, 73, called his win “my last political victory” and said “no political loss will follow”.
He pledged “to work as I have worked so far”.
Drahos conceded defeat and congratulated Zeman. The career scientist and chemistry professor said he planned to stay in politics, but did not provide details.
“It’s not over,” Drahos said.
Zeman, a veteran of Czech politics and former left-wing prime minister, won his first term in 2013 during the Czech Republic’s first presidential election decided by voters, not lawmakers.
Since then, he has divided the nation with his pro-Russia stance, support for closer ties with China, and strong anti-migrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric.
A year after taking up the top job, the veteran left winger made clear his foreign policy preferences by visiting China and attending a forum on a Greek island that was organised by a Vladimir Putin ally who is a persona non grata in the United States.
Zeman is also known for a strong aversion to journalists, whom he once dubbed “manure” and “superficial” before telling Putin in China last May that “journalists should be liquidated”.
Just after his re-election, he slammed journalists again insisting that they had “markedly lower intelligence than ordinary citizens”.
He was skewered for his friendship with former Communist apparatchik Miroslav Slouf, allegedly close to the Czech mafia and Russian corporations, including energy giant Lukoil.
Born on September 28, 1944, Zeman is married to Ivana, who is 20 years his junior and a big fan of guns and all things military.
“She will protect me from terrorists,” Zeman once quipped, calling on Czechs to “get armed against terrorists” amid the migrant flow into Europe.
Zeman has two children, a son from his first marriage and a daughter from his second.
A chain smoker, Zeman once confessed to a daily diet of six glasses of wine and three shots of spirits.
Apparently drunk, he infamously stumbled in the room containing the Czech crown jewels during his first inspection there, soon after his first election.
He later blamed the incident on a virus, which has since become a popular tongue-in-cheek euphemism for inebriation.
Doctors have forced Zeman to cut down on drink and smoke since he was first elected, also because he has been diagnosed with diabetic neuropathy, forcing him to walk with a cane.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
