Zeman is in seventh heaven

Two weeks before Miloš Zeman cut loose on Czech Radio with a string of swear words, and four weeks before having eggs hurled at him, he told TV Nova's Střepiny program that he was longing for the protests of people who voted for Karel Schwarzenberg. During his first tour of the regions, he said, there were always protesters there with "Karel" signs, but not anymore. Talking with these people, he explained, was always more interesting than hearing someone say, "Mr. President, you're so brilliant." When asked a few minutes later about how he would rate Bohuslav Sobotka's performance, he said that the main task of the PM is to keep the cabinet team together and to prevent the ministers from bickering in public. One minister should not make a proposal that goes against the proposals of the other coalition parties, he said. In this respect, he said, Sobotka is basically successful. That was on Oct. 19. Seven weeks later, the protests are back, and Sobotka is also fighting publicly with Andrej Babiš over salaries. Zeman is in seventh heaven.