Prague, May 30 (CTK) – The team of Czech President Milos Zeman, 72, has to adjust his busy schedule since he has suffered from fatigue, which together with his health can be a decisive factor in voters’ decision-making in early 2018 when he will be defending his post, daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) wrote on Tuesday.
Zeman’s condition also worries his doctors. Internist Lubomir Necas, one of Zemas’s three personal doctors, has appealed to his team to slacken off the schedule.
However, Zeman’s team has not largely heeded the call. After Zeman attended a recent NATO summit in Brussels and made a speech at a rally marking the 75th anniversary of the obliteration of Lidice, central Bohemia, by the Nazis, he left for a three-day visit to the South Moravia Region, HN writes.
On June 5, Zeman will fly to Vietnam for one week and then to Kazakhstan to attend the inauguration of EXPO 2017.
Doctors say Zeman needs to relax more. “His fatigue is due to the exacting character of the events that now follow one after another. He needs a rest,” Necas said, adding that he would need a one- or two-week holiday.
A similar warning has of late been made repeatedly by Martin Holcat, former head of Zeman’s health team, who accompanied Zeman on his seven-day visit to China earlier this month, HN writes.
“I am much younger and I was also tired during the Chinese journey. I can say generally that the load should be alternated with relaxation, which applies to everyone, including the president,” Holcat said.
In China, Zeman had problems getting off the plane and when a joint photo of the statesmen who attended a meeting on the New Silk Road, was taken, leaders of other countries had to wait for him arrive in an electric wheelchair, HN writes.
In Brussels, Zeman did not attend U.S. President Donald Trump’s key speech.
Zeman’s visits to regions are also demanding because the events are scheduled from the morning until early evening, HN writes.
It quotes a high-ranking source from the Presidential Office as saying that Zeman has lost ten kilograms since the beginning of the year, which can be partially due to the fatigue, but also a new diet doctors have recommended to Zeman.
During the forthcoming Asian tour, Zeman will attend a reduced number of ceremonies, HN writes.
“Since high temperatures and a high humidity are expected there, we are trying for everything to be held in one place as far as possible,” Vratislav Mynar, head of the Presidential Office, is quoted as saying.
He said, however, it is not possible to adjust the tours of regions that are planned well in advance.
Zeman needs to show to the public that he manages his schedule without any problems and that he can rule for another five years, HN writes.
It writes that Zeman, a favourite of the presidential election, could be overtaken by his rivals unless he shows the public a fresher face.
According to the latest Median poll, Zeman’s popularity slightly dropped to 35 percent between April and May, while his major rival, former Science Academy head Jiri Drahos, firmed by 7 percent to 24, HN writes.
Zeman does not release details of his health condition. It is only known that he has impaired hearing and he suffers from diabetes and polyfunctional neuropathy, which requires the use of a walking stick.
ms/t/kva
