Czech election: Milos Zeman wins the battle of ideas

In the long run the distinction among victory and defeat become simply a hundred and fifty,000 votes, a margin re-elected czech president milos zeman defined as "exceptionally" near.

The shouts of "lengthy stay zeman!" echoed via the corridors of the alternatively drab pinnacle lodge, the president's election headquarters in prague's gray southern suburbs, as his supporters clapped wildly.

"that is my ultimate victory," said the 73-12 months-antique. He became flanked by means of his wife, daughter, close aides and numerous politicians, such as tomio okamura, chief of the a ways-proper spd birthday party.

Mr okamura become a key ally in mr zeman's ideological warfare against what he sees because the creeping islamisation of europe.

"in my next term i need to be less arrogant and extra humble," he instructed the gang, including that individuals who disliked him have been unlikely to exchange their minds.

Advertisement
As a substitute, he said he could fight for what he known as "lively citizenship", a more involvement of ordinary human beings in influencing politics and society.

Zeman beats drahos to win second term
The politically wrong president dividing a country
He stated he had come to the realization that "some journalists and politicians" possessed considerably lower intelligence than "ordinary humans".

That is why many human beings - inclusive of mr zeman himself - maintain to make comparisons with us president donald trump.

Throughout city, in the equally drab congress centre that served as jiri drahos' headquarters, the atmosphere became celebratory rather than funereal. There has been sustained applause as jiri drahos took to the level.

"we did not win," he said. "but we are not defeated.""the strength created at some point of this campaign will live on," he delivered. There was more applause, before he defined that he had no plans to retreat from public existence.

"i can carry on," he advised the crowd. Reporters without delay started out wondering what precisely that supposed.

Ought to there be any other election before milos zeman's 5 years is up? The media will be looking his public appearances carefully.

Now not everybody is certain the sick president - who suffers from type-2 diabetes and walks with problem - is bodily capable of completing his mandate.

Later, mr drahos instructed the bbc it was too soon to take a position whether or not he might discover himself contesting the publish of president once more.

However he was surely not ruling anything out, which includes coming into parliament.

So became it proper to explain this election as a battle of thoughts between populism and elitism, among authoritarianism and liberal democracy, among east and west?

"i assume what we witnessed became a contest among the populist, anti-establishment leanings of the massive a part of the populace with the rest of society," stated michael zantovsky, former czech ambassador to london and a close aide of the late ex-president vaclav havel.

"and what is very funny in a way is that the leader of the anti-establishment camp was in reality the leader of the status quo - the president."