Monday News Briefing

Zeman (the leftist Citizens' Right Party, SPOZ) and Schwarzenberg (conservative TOP 09), will clash in the second round on January 25-26.  Zeman, former social democrat prime minister, has made it clear during his election campaign he intends to be an activist president who would interfere in the government's policies. 

Schwarzenberg, junior ruling TOP 09 head and foreign minister in the present Cabinet, emphasized his goal to transform the presidency into a well functioning office. 

The election of both Schwarzenberg and Zeman, however, poses a certain threat to the two strongest parties in Parliament, the ruling Civic Democrats (ODS) and the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD). Zeman, with his political experience and ambition to pursue his own policy as president, would likely be a vocal critic of the present Cabinet of Petr Necas (ODS) or a potential future government led by the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD). 

Schwarzenberg, meanwhile, has preferred being loyal to partners to entering sharp political clashes. 

Zeman in the past months reiterated that the president's role is to conduct informal negotiations with both governing and opposition politicians, aimed to bring them to consensus. His best-known past political step is the "opposition agreement," a power-sharing pact under which his minority CSSD government was kept afloat by the right-wing opposition ODS of Vaclav Klaus in exchange for a portion of power in 1998-2002. 

Klaus, now the outgoing president, has indirectly supported Zeman's presidential candidacy. Zeman's policy as president would therefore be similar to that of Klaus, who has strongly interfered in parliamentary politics from behind the scenes. 

Unlike Zeman, Schwarzenberg said he would bring a change to the president's style, if elected to the post. Schwarzenberg's election as president may weaken the present Cabinet, in which Schwarzenberg is Deputy PM.