Meaningless protests against Zeman

Opinion polls show that Miloš Zeman has a very loyal voter base. PPM Factum found earlier this month that of those who voted for him in the first round, 80% would do so again. Of those who chose him over Karel Schwarzenberg in the second round, 70% would vote for him again. Zeman is a divisive figure, with most voters either loving him or hating him. He is also presenting himself as an anti-Establishment figure and, like Donald Trump in the U.S., usually benefits when he is criticized by mainstream analysts or journalists. This makes protests like the red underpants at the Castle meaningless at best and probably even counterproductive. To criticize Zeman is to strengthen him. The single biggest exception to this rule came when Zeman traveled back from China last year with PPF and J&T. His voters realized, however briefly, that he was putting the interests of the oligarchs over theirs. As Editor-in-chief Jaroslav Plesl of MFD put it on Facebook, if the weekend protesters were smarter, they would have flown the red undershorts at PPF Gate in Prague 6.