Page 62 - bne_newspaper_February_02_2018

62 Opinion bne February 2018
President Miloš Zeman has opted for a Czech version of a “Rose Garden Strategy” by officially not campaigning.
COMMENT: Zeman quietly rounds up his base in campaign for second term
Kanat Shaku in Almaty
Once sedate and dull, Czech politics has recently been serving up non-stop political drama. First, October’s parliamentary elections dealt a shattering, but not fatal, blow to established parties.
Then the election winner, the billionaire-politician and fraud indictee, Andrej Babiš struggled to form a government with any of the other eight parties in parliament, opting instead in December to form a minority administration with uncertain prospects.
Now creeping up on us after a low-key campaign come the Czech presidential elections, whose first round takes place on 12-13 January.
The relatively low profile of the election is partly down to the incumbent. Having announced in March last year that he would run for a second term, President Miloš Zeman has opted for
a Czech version of a [US] “Rose Garden Strategy” by officially not campaigning, refusing to give pre-election interviews or appear in debates with other candidates; and according to his online campaign account spending pretty much zilch.
The reality is that for many months presidential visits to
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regions and provincial towns, fielding undemanding questions from generally sympathetic crowds, have served as a surro- gate, under-the-radar campaign.
Zeman’s non-campaign
Zeman’s non-campaign now also features expensive-looking billboard and newspaper advertising to elect Zeman Again (Zeman znovu) paid for by the Friends of Miloš Zeman –
a previously dormant civic association founded in 2008 to relaunch Zeman from political retirement.
To some extent, these tactics seems to reflect Zeman’s state of health. Although rumours of cancer and other life-threatening conditions have been vigorously rebutted, the president suffers diabetes and a nerve condition – possibly arising as a complication – affecting his legs which visibly limits his mobil- ity. The president’s alcohol and tobacco consumption have also long been a source of concern to his doctors.
In other ways, however, Zeman’s semi-visible campaign is a shrewd political move. For supporters Zeman is a flawed, but decent politician, who stands up for the interests of ordinary people outside the better-off world of Prague and big cities and also sticks up for Czech national interests. For his many