Ex-Communist, aristocrat minister set for Czech runoff

Leftist ex-premier Milos Zeman and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg will face off in a January 25-26 runoff in the Czech Republic's first-ever direct presidential election, ending a decade under eurosceptic Vaclav Klaus. Zeman, 68, a bold pro-European ex-Communist, scored 24.2 percent support in round one of voting on Friday and Saturday narrowly ahead of the aristocratic Schwarzenberg, 75, who made a surprise second spot finish with 23.4 percent. The winner will replace staunchly eurosceptic Vaclav Klaus, whose second and last five-year term expires on March 7. In stark contrast to him, both round-two contenders are Europe-friendly. With the powers of the Czech president relatively limited, issues related to the republic's role within the European Union and corruption, recession and austerity woes are key in the election. Analysts in Prague believe that beyond traditional voter preference for either left or right, personal appeal is likely to determine the final outcome. "It's a clash between the left and right wing, but their personalities will play a big role," Tomas Lebeda, a political analyst at Charles University in Prague, said Saturday. "The percentages they won are very low, which increases uncertainty as the number of votes that can sway the balance is huge," he noted. Whatever the result, the new Czech president will turn a friendlier face towards the EU, which the Czech Republic joined in 2004 -- echoing the attitude of Klaus's predecessor, the late Velvet Revolution icon Vaclav Havel. "The Czech Republic should take steps towards more solid EU structures including a single European economic policy," the outspoken Zeman said, giving a nod to what Klaus has dubbed a nightmare scenario. As prime minister from 1998 to 2002, Zeman was responsible for negotiating the EU entry of this 10.5-million-strong ex-Communist country. The right-wing Schwarzenberg, an aristocrat dubbed "the Prince" by his countrymen and bearing the full name of Karl Johannes Nepomuk Josef Norbert Friedrich Antonius Wratislaw Mena Furst zu Schwarzenberg, is unabashedly pro-European. He protested loudly when centre-right Prime Minister Petr Necas declined the EU's fiscal stability pact last year, a key tool in fixing the eurozone debt crisis. "The key question is if we want to be an EU member with all the consequences, or if we want to be mere parasites," Schwarzenberg said. His backers perceive the debonair, pipe-puffing Schwarzenberg, famous for his bow ties and dozing off in public, as honest and experienced. "I feel he would be the least likely to steal," Prague voter Alena Zurkova told AFP, referring to notoriously corrupt Czech politics. Schwarzenberg has pledged to focus on cleaning up Czech politics and to "make us a well-behaved, successful country, and the heart of Europe." The recession that hit the republic last year and an associated austerity drive by the right-wing government Schwarzenberg is a part of already figure as key round-two issues. "Like in France, the presidential duel will be a clash between right- and left-wing candidates," Zeman, an economist, said after the vote, slamming his rival for endorsing socially painful spending cuts. "Neither of us can shed the responsibility for the past or the present," he said. Preliminary turnout figures topped 60 percent. Former prime minister Jan Fischer and leftist Senator Jiri Dienstbier finished third and fourth with over 16 percent. Fifth spot went to the most colourful candidate, in all senses. Tattooed from head to toe, Vladimir Franz, a 53-year-old drama teacher, classical composer and visual artist, won nearly seven percent of the vote with a pledge to push for education, tolerance and culture. The Czech Republic's previous presidents were elected by parliament, which in February 2012 approved a switch to popular universal suffrage to boost the legitimacy of the office. The Czech Republic, a NATO and EU member yet to join the eurozone, has been mired in recession for a year, with its central bank predicting moderate 0.2 percent economic growth in 2013. Joblessness stood at 9.4 percent in December.