Ready for round two in Czech presidential elections
Arms raised and smiling for the cameras, Karel Schwarzenberg looked like a man who had just won a boxing match rather than a political contest. But as the 75-year-old presidential hopeful walked onstage to address his supporters at a packed theater in the center of Prague Jan. 12, he would have known his biggest fight is yet to come.
Schwarzenberg will face Miloš Zeman in a Jan. 25-26 runoff to succeed the outgoing Václav Klaus after neither gained an outright majority in the first round of voting over the weekend. With the Czech Republic directly electing a head of state for the first time, former leftist Prime Minister Zeman garnered 24.2 percent support, while a late surge in the polls saw Foreign Affairs Minister Schwarzenberg finish second of the nine candidates with 23.4 percent.
For the full story, please visit The Prague Post
Related stories:
Leftist Zeman wins first round in Czech presidential election
Former PM Zeman and foreign minister Schwarzenberg go to second round in Czech presidential election
Voting in 2013 Czech Republic presidential election begins on January 11
