Fourty minutes after the polling stations unopen at 2 pm (they opened yesterday at 2 pm), it's already clear that Miloš Zeman has defended the Czech presidency inward the 2d circular against his politically right opportunist competition Dr Jiří Drahoš. 30% of the districts withdraw hold been counted together with Zeman is ahead now, 57-to-43, which already looks irreversible to me. I was updating the subtitle to reverberate the latest percentages. (After 55% of districts counted, at iii pm, Zeman was ahead 55-to-45. At 3:10, 71% was counted together with it was 54-to-46. 3:17 pm, 53.5-to-46.5 after 80%. 3:36 pm, 52.4-to-47.6, after 93%. 3:43 pm, 52.2-to-47.8, after 95%.)
Among Czechs abroad, Drahoš won 86%, wow. In Prague City, Prague-West, together with Prague-East, Drahoš won 64-68 percent. In Brno (2nd largest city, a point inward the Southeast), Drahoš had 57%. In all other districts, Drahoš had at most 52% or then – that includes Pilsen-City, my district. The residue of Czechia, the "countryside" or the "red districts", belongs to Zeman, almost alongside 55% inward average.
Miloš Zeman is ane of the iii cardinal Czech politicians who withdraw hold built the novel capitalist scheme after the 1989 Velvet Revolution inward Czechoslovakia (along alongside Václavs Havel together with Klaus). He conquered the social democratic political party inward 1990 together with using his charisma, knowledge, together with skills, he changed it from a tiny revival political party to a 30+ percent monstrous party. As a right-wing voter, I was annoyed past times his anti-capitalist criticisms to a greater extent than or less 1992.
But past times the belatedly 1990s, it was already clear that he wasn't such a bad guy. He signed the opposition understanding alongside Václav Klaus inward 1998 – which was a ability pact (giving the authorities to Zeman together with Parliament to Klaus) which sidelined the modest parties that were beacons of the politically right pathologies nosotros run into everywhere these days. Klaus latterly said that it was the "Havlist regime" that turned Zeman together with Klaus into allies or friends.
Around 2000, I was already convinced that Zeman wasn't quite equally left-wing together with quite equally pro-EU equally he seemed to say. He turned into a proxy of "a guy of mine". After all, his authorities has also done a lots of locomote e.g. to privatize the banks, something that Klaus' right-wing governments were previously afraid of, together with much of his social democratic together with pro-EU rhetoric was just a verbal habit – from the times when he defined himself equally the main, nominally left-wing opponent of Klaus. I was also certain that the self-described "eurofederalist" would teach an unpopular homo for Brussels inward 2013 together with he certainly did just similar I expected.
So Zeman became the principal supporter of State of Israel amidst the European leaders, the principal supporter of Trump long earlier Trump was elected, together with a major critic of Islam, volume migration etc. amidst the European leaders. He loves to create witticisms together with he's oftentimes vulgar but fifty-fifty though I would sometimes prefer a polite leader, his idiosyncrasies together with expletives aid to hold the liberty of spoken language inward the existent life which seems much to a greater extent than of import to me than the politeness of the president.
I didn't vote for him inward the kickoff circular – I just decided that Topolánek was a improve choice. One ground is that Topolánek is inward a much improve physical condition. Another ground is that Zeman is a rather clear excessive supporter of PM Andrej Babiš which I don't like. But at the end, I don't intend that a pol should endure primarily judged according to the wellness of his legs. And I discovery Babiš weakened plenty then that Zeman's apparent back upwardly for Babiš seems tolerable to me. After all, I also practise concur that Babiš's getting then many votes should affair inward numerous political decisions (but non inward all decisions inward his life).
Topolánek, similar most other candidates, endorsed Drahoš for the 2d round. Although I wouldn't applaud to this endorsement, I assort of expected it. Ex-president Klaus was shocked past times that determination together with it's rumored that he has informed Topolánek (whom Klaus has called "vacuous together with insincere" inward a famous SMS message a decade ago) that he (Klaus) finally erased Topolánek from his listing of contacts on his jail cellphone phone. Well, I sympathize Klaus but equally far equally I tin dismiss say, it's an overreaction.
I couldn't vote for Dr Jiří Drahoš, a trained pharmacist together with one-time boss of the Czech Academy of Sciences, because he seems similar some other spineless opportunist politically right pol of the Western European kind, a Czech Juncker or a Merkel inward trousers. Unlike Klaus together with Zeman, Drahoš could locomote just fine inward the Academia during communism (well, yes, I appreciate that natural sciences were less politicized during the totalitarian regime). But I intend that his publication together with citation tape makes it clear that he's a typical mediocre or subpar researcher who decided to brand his living equally a bureaucrat who isn't a occupation for anyone, who ever only parrots the prevailing "expected" political opinions inward his environment, together with that's oftentimes plenty inward the Academia. He did it during communism, he did it equally a boss of the Czech Academy of Sciences, together with he wanted to teach our president inward the same way.
So I don't intend he's been an exceptional scientist, I don't intend he's trustworthy, together with I wouldn't ever actively vote for him. Drahoš currently says that he's against the migration quotas but I don't believe that this comment actually represents his thinking together with his hereafter acts. Some 2 years ago, he signed a "petition of some scientists" that argued that every refugee has the right to endure accepted or something along these lines. We would clearly endure drifting a combat closer to a satellite Earth of Angela Merkel if Drahoš were elected. The president is a by together with large ceremonial chore hither (like the British queen) but he even then has some existent powers together with it's natural for lots of people to hear what he says together with to endure loyal to him.
During the campaign, e-mails circulated that claimed that Drahoš was forced to cooperate alongside the communist clandestine police line because he was blackmailed past times the evidence that he is romantically attracted to modest boys (and/or something that goes beyond attraction). I didn't have those mails together with it's plausible that they would expression similar crackpot nonsense to me – if I saw their style, grammer mistakes, together with visible fabrication past times a rural demagogue. However, I exclusively read virtually these "lies" or "fake news" inward the media together with fifty-fifty though the writers of these stories painted the volume e-mails equally "fake news", I stay open-minded virtually the enquiry whether this even is true.
At whatsoever rate, this isn't a cardinal even that has decided virtually my vote for Zeman (I voted yesterday). He has the right attitudes to the EU, migration, liberty of speech, together with other essential things. He isn't perfect inward my optics but Zeman is a clear addition for me. He is involved inward unusual policy – something that Babiš by together with large ignores – together with Zeman seems to endure on the skillful side.
When Zeman was voting for himself inward the kickoff circular 2 weeks ago, a nude together with ugly Femen (Female Semen) activist jumped at our president, screaming "Zeman's Putin slut". Zeman's guards jumped at her before long afterwards. ;-) In the 2d round, Zeman was scream for where is the nude activist today. Well, he got some other ane inward the 2d round, indeed. In Kiev, another Femen activist went to protestation Zeman. She wrote "Zeman, a limping monster" on her trunk together with went to protestation to the diplomatic mission (well, it was the Slovak embassy, non the Czech one, but you lot wouldn't await a to a greater extent than accurate targeting from a Femen activist, anyway).
H5N1 adult woman alongside this appearance needs quite some courage to depict other people equally "monsters". By the way, this adult woman is well-known to Czechs. H5N1 famous sculpture of this woman, Venus of the Lower Prophetville, was constitute inward Czech Republic inward 1925. It was created almost 30,000 years agone but equally you lot tin dismiss check, it's the same woman. ;-)
Days ago, Zeman is Russian, wow.) These memes almost precisely re-create WaPo's anti-Trump garbage – it's assort of groovy to run into that inward some respects, Czechs human face upwardly the same political splits together with dilemmas equally Americans. We're finally fraternal nations.
What is the sexual orientation of the author? Yes, your bet is right, Mr Jakub Janda is gay. Who owns the scheme where Janda is a manager or vice-director? Yes, it's George Soros. All "stereotypes" are totally accurate. If I owned lots of copies of the Washington Post, I would endure selling them equally can paper that may exclusively endure used past times dogs together with inward the full darkness. But these people are equally arrogant exhibitionists equally Venus of Kiev – then they're giving this garbage paper to thousands of people equally if they were newspapers.
Like Hillary Clinton, Drahoš was occasionally considered the frontrunner past times the mainstream media, I was pretty certain it was a affair of manipulation together with a wishful thinking just similar inward Hillary's case.
By the way, when it was clear Drahoš would win, he made a spoken language virtually the unloosen energy he accumulated which is conserved due to the unloosen energy conservation law. Funny. He congratulated Zeman but said "we didn't win but nosotros didn't lose, either". This is a typical illustration of the insane politically right Orwellian spoken language – "failure" is renamed equally "delayed success" etc. He also promised the continuation inward politics. That sounds clueless to me, this was clearly Drahoš's in conclusion fifteen minutes of fame. Drahoš sang the national anthem which was non professional person but musically decent.
Zeman made a cute speech, kissing his married adult woman together with miss (a happy Tomio Okamura, a nationalist political party leader, was nearby, much similar the social democracy's interim leader Milan Chovanec of Pilsen, the one-time recent government minister of interior), thanking his voters (specifically the rarer ones inward Prague), together with quoting the legendary film "The Cozy Dens" that the "comrades from East Federal Republic of Federal Republic of Germany must withdraw hold made a mistake" because the podium wasn't stable. He also thanked Drahoš's voters, particularly because a narrow victory is to a greater extent than pleasing. Zeman left the anthem to vocaliser Daniel Hůlka, Zeman's singing is clearly weaker than Drahoš's. The Washington Post posted a novel hysterical even nether the championship Populist, pro-Russian Czech president fends off challenger, dashing liberal hopes. Painful yet unsurprising.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland Express says that the European Union panics after Zeman's victory, partly because he could endorse the plebiscite on Czechout. Well, maybe, hypothetically, but the president's catch on this number isn't decisive, at to the lowest degree non inward an obvious way.