Elections In The Czech Republic: Milos Zeman In The Intensive Care Unit After Voting.
Key Sentence:
- Czech President Milos Zeman is hospitalized after the opposition's shock victory in parliamentary elections.
- The 77-year-old is a heavy smoker and former alcoholic who uses a wheelchair and has diabetes.
He must negotiate a new government after a vote on Saturday. The director of the Central Military Hospital in Prague said Zeman was in intensive care due to complications from a known diagnosis.
The hospital said it would not provide further details at the president's request. However, his office previously said that Zeman was suffering from exhaustion and dehydration after spending eight days in hospital last month. However, according to Prague correspondent Rob Cameron, officials have not commented on claims from multiple sources that he has ascites, the buildup of fluid in his stomach most commonly associated with cirrhosis of the liver.
Zeman was hospitalized from the presidential palace outside the capital of Prague on Sunday morning shortly after meeting Prime Minister Andrei Babis. Czech media reported that staff raised their heads when entering the hospital.
Prime Minister Babis and his populist party ANO called for re-election on Saturday after four years in office.
But they were beaten in the polls by the center-right coalition Spolu (he meant), which received 27.8% of the vote, compared to 27.1% by ANO. Spolu has announced talks with a coalition of liberal pirates/mayors known as PirStan to form a government.
However, President Zeman said ahead of the election that he would choose the winner of the single largest party, not a coalition, to form the next government. With ANO receiving the most votes of any party, it will be Prime Minister Babish, an ally of President Zeman.
The president announced that he would choose a multi-billion dollar prime minister ahead of the election. However, due to his poor health, he had to carry the urn to run on Saturday's election. According to Reuters, the Czech Constitution gives the House of Commons the power to appoint the Prime Minister if the president is overthrown. A controversial figure, Mr. Zeman is known for making divisive comments and using abusive language. In June, he was heavily criticized for calling transgender people "dirty."