Prague Czech President Milos Zeman was hospitalized shortly after the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic. The agency CTK reported on Sunday, citing a spokeswoman for the Central Military Hospital in Prague. The 77-year-old had previously received the populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis for a 45-minute conversation in his residence at Lany Castle near Prague.
Zeman is being treated in the intensive care unit, the director of the Central Military Hospital, Miroslav Zavoral, told CT station in the afternoon. The reason are complications related to Zeman’s chronic illnesses. “We know the diagnosis so that we can tailor the treatment to it,” said the doctor.
In the parliamentary elections on Friday and Saturday, the liberal-conservative opposition won a clear majority of 108 of the 200 seats in the House of Representatives. The president plays a crucial role after the election because he gives the mandate to form a government. If the head of state is indisposed, this task is transferred to the President of the House of Representatives.
Zeman was only released from a clinic in September after an eight-day hospital stay. He has been at the head of his country since 2013. Before that he was Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. According to earlier reports, he suffers from diabetes and is dependent on a wheelchair because of a nerve disease. He is the first Czech president to be directly elected by the people twice after a constitutional amendment.
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