Zeman is missing

With the Czech presidential election less than a week away, Miloš Zeman is missing. While the other candidates are busy campaigning, appearing at debates and generally engaging with the public, he is nowhere to be found. When public television ran short pre-recorded statements from all the candidates on a recent evening, Mr. Zeman’s contribution was an old still photo plastered in front of a picture of Prague Castle. What conclusions can we draw other than he was physically incapable of recording a message, or that he is intentionally misleading the public so as to not show the weak, sick man that he is.

I am not a voter next week, nor do I wish Mr. Zeman ill health. It probably comes as little surprise that if I were I would not vote for Mr. Zeman, nor would I have done so five years ago. No doubt Mr. Zeman’s supporters care little about my opinions – I am a foreigner residing in Prague after all, and thus muddying the pure waters of the Czech nation. Still, it was possible to understand how and why he appealed to enough people to win five years ago. That is not true now.