Czech president Milos Zeman was rushed to hospital on Sunday, the day after the parliamentary elections, a delicate moment for the country’s political life as the president plays a key role in the formation of the executive. The military hospital in Prague has confirmed that Zeman has been transported there from the presidential castle of Lany, near the capital, and is in intensive care.
The Czech president returned to hospital only a few weeks after his last hospitalization. Zeman had previously been hospitalized on Sept. 14 for what his office called scheduled exams that would detect no life-threatening problems or illnesses. The presidential office then reported that the president was just dehydrated and tired. Zeman spent four days in the same hospital in 2019 for similar reasons.
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The president, 77, is a smoker with a penchant for alcohol and has suffered from diabetes and neuropathy. He has difficulty walking and is using a wheelchair. The Czech presidency is largely ceremonial, but the president has the right to choose the country’s new prime minister.
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In the morning, the head of state met in Lany with his close ally, Prime Minister Andrej Babis, whose centrist movement Ano finished second in Saturday’s elections, after the center-right coalition. Babis’ single party was still the most voted and Zeman had previously promised that he would entrust the task of trying to form a new executive to the very leader of the party (and not the coalition) most voted. Babis did not comment after meeting Zeman.
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