Czech President Milos Zeman to Run for Second Term
Czechs may not have seen the last of this colorful character.
Czech President Milos Zeman told supporters gathered at Prague Castle on Thursday to celebrate the anniversary of his 2013 election that he will indeed run for a second term.
Czech President Milos Zeman told supporters gathered at Prague Castle on Thursday to celebrate the anniversary of his 2013 election that he will indeed run for a second term.
Zeman is what we will here call a polarizing figure. He was the first president to be directly elected. In Oct. 2016, thousands took to Prague’s streets to protest their president after Zeman was accused of refusing to present a high-state award to Holocaust survivor Jiri Brady after his nephew, Daniel Herman, minister of culture, met with the Dalai Lama. Zeman, a proponent of stronger economic ties between the Czech Republic and China, condemned the meeting (but also denied the allegations and said the rally was the part of political machinations against him).
Zeman has also called for closer ties to Russia, criticized European sanctions imposed for the illegal annexation of Crimea, and rebuked the European Union for failing to stop the flow of migrants and refugees. His phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump apparently went very well. He was reportedly displeased with the Interior Ministry’s decision to establish a center to deal with “hybrid threats,” and in particular Russian disinformation. He is often openly at odds with the Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka.
Sobotka also has campaigning on his mind. The Czech Republic’s parliamentary elections are this coming October. Sobotka is charged with fending off Andrej Babis and his ANO party. Babis is the country’s finance minister — and also its second richest man and most popular politician. His ANO party advocates fiscal restraint and is opposed to traditional establishment politics and politicians.
The presidential elections will be held Jan. 2018. Some suspect Zeman will back Babis in exchange for Babis’s supporting Zeman. The man who might be the next prime minister may, after all, need some help when government formation negotiations come around in the months after his potential election and before the presidential race concludes.
Photo credit: MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images
Emily Tamkin is a global affairs journalist and the author of The Influence of Soros and Bad Jews. She was a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2016-2018. Twitter: @emilyctamkin
More from Foreign Policy
Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.
Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.
The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.
The Masterminds
Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day, written by Alexandra Sharp. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.