Former PM wins Czech elections

(Vatican Radio)-- Former Prime Minister Milos Zeman has won the Czech Republic's first direct presidential election, which is expected to impact the country's future relations with the European Union.

Zeman's victory, with about 55 percent of the vote, came as a blow to his aristocratic rival Karel Schwarzenberg, who at 75 had hoped to be the first prince to become president within the European Union.


A visible disappointed Schwarzenberg said he wanted to thank “all who came to vote” for him “in the freezing cold.” But he added: “We will meet each other in better times.”

He acknowledged that most votes went to Zeman, amid major differences between the two men about the EU's future.


President-elect Zeman is more reluctant to further enlarge the Union than the prince, who is currently foreign minister and backs the eventual EU integration of all Balkan countries.


EU ENLARGEMENT QUESTIONED

Zeman has said he only supports Croatia’s and “possibly” Serbia’s EU membership.


He has also suggested to withdraw the Czech republic's envoy from Kosovo which he called ”a terrorist regime financed by the drugs mafia.”

Yet, on Saturday, he tried to sound more conciliatory, making it clear that he want to unite the Czech Republic, which faces a major economic crisis.


He said he wanted to thank everybody who supported him and that he congratulated his rival with his “deserved second place in the race.”


Zeman stressed that he now wants to be the “voice for all people as president.”

EUROSCEPTIC PRESIDENT


Zeman will replace the Czech Republic's eurosceptic president Vaclav Klaus, who was elected by parliament.


Klaus popularity recently dropped after he granted amnesty to some 7,000 prisoners to celebrate the New Year and the Czech Republic's 20th anniversary as an independent state.


While largely ceremonial, Zeman's presidency is expected to wield political influence at a time when the Czech Republic faces social tensions.



Its economy shrank by nearly one percent last year, in part due to its dependency on car exports to eurozone states, hit hard by the debt crisis.


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