Bartos – Zeman Divides Society

Ivan Bartos Milos Zeman

Brno, (CTK) – Czech Pirates will not give any recommendation to voters on whom to support in the first round of the presidential election next week, and they will leave the decision up to people, Pirate head Ivan Bartos said today, adding that he personally would not back current President Milos Zeman.

 

Bartos, whom the Pirates re-elected their chairman today, said he will announce his own election preference on the eve of the election.

 

“I would like to call on people to take part in the election and not to seek an adviser to recommend whom they should vote for. People should consider what the president’s tasks are, how they wish the Czech Republic should look like in five or more years, and cast their ballots accordingly, since only an informal choice is a genuine contribution of democracy,” Bartos said.

 

He said he does not incline to support Zeman, who seeks re-election for another five years.

 

“President Zeman is an old man, has health troubles, and his statements are not in harmony with foreign policy of the Czech Republic as shaped by the government of the Czech Republic,” Bartos said.

 

He said Zeman, 73, divides the society.

 

“My criteria for a president to meet are his or her being a decent, honest person and calming down disputes in Czech society,” Bartos said.

 

On its website, the Pirate Party has launched an informal poll for members and fans to discuss which of the nine presidential candidates is the best. In the poll, the largest support has gone to physician and activist Marek Hilser, 41, former Academy of Sciences chairman Jiri Drahos, 68, who is widely considered the most hopeful rival to face Zeman in the runoff vote in late January, and lyricist and entrepreneur Michal Horacek, 65.

 

The Pirates entered the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in last autumn’s general election, becoming the third strongest party in it.