Photos of Miloš Zeman from Sunday’s memorial service in Vítkov have once again sparked debate about his health. In some pictures, the head of state is sitting in a wheelchair with his head down. However, the head of the president’s medical council, Tomáš Zima, denied these speculations, according to him, Miloš Zeman’s health condition has not changed and is stable.

The chairman of the Senate Constitutional Commission Zděnek Hraba (STAN) said on social networks on Tuesday that he had received many questions about whether Article 66 of the Czech Republic’s Constitution should not be applied. This provides an opportunity for legislators to agree that the head of state cannot carry out his office. Its possible application was discussed in the fall of last year, when Miloš Zeman lay in the Central Military Hospital.

“I have to say that I am really not happy that there is yet another big discussion about the state of health of the head of state. Moreover, in my opinion, the president should be an active player not only in the political field but also in the social field,” Hraba wrote on social networks.

​Hraba stated that the Senate needed to monitor how the president carried out his functions. If it is clear he is unable to carry out his function, he and his colleagues will discuss the next steps. “However, it should be added that even if I have certain doubts about the form of participation in this act of respect, it in itself does not meet the hypothesis of the norm stated in Article 66 of the Constitution of the Czech Republic,” added Hraba.

Hraba told the editor of TN.cz that senators did not formally inquire about the president’s health. His posts on social media are said to be in response to various questions from the public he received after Sunday’s memorial service.

weThe head of President Zeman’s medical council, Tomáš Zima, said that this was merely speculation about the deteriorating health of the president. “I am in regular contact with Professor Zavoral (the doctor who treats the president). The last time I spoke to him was last week. The president’s condition is stable,” Zima explained to the editor of TN.cz. He added that the Presidential Medical Council still exists but has not met recently because it is not needed.

On Tuesday, President Zeman received Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and his wife Desislava Radeva at Prague Castle. Among other things, the statesmen discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which they emphatically condemned. Next, each of them spoke briefly at the press conference.

TN.cz