Prague, Jan 18 (CTK) – Czech President Milos Zeman underwent a minor intervention in hospital on Tuesday because of a small inflammation, his spokesman told CTK on Thursday in reaction to the news released by the Aktualne.cz server that Zeman had a minor operation in his oral cavity in the Prague-Na Homolce hospital.
Zeman told Barrandov TV tonight that doctors cut the inside of his cheek. It was “a small abscess,” he said.
He said his cheek still hurt and he felt he could not fully concentrate.
Zeman, 73, is seeking re-election. He is fighting for his post with Jiri Drahos, Czech Academy of Sciences former head. The presidential runoff will be held on January 26-27. Speculations about Zeman’s health are a big issue before the election.
“It was a small intervention that was performed two days ago, nothing serious,” Ovcacek said.
Aktualne writes that Zeman rested at the presidential chateau in Lany near Prague after the operation.
Zeman originally said on Wednesday he would accept the resignation of the minority government of Andrej Babis (ANO) by Friday, but Ovcacek announced a few hours later that this would not be possible because of the president’s busy schedule. He said Zeman was carefully preparing for the TV duels with Drahos.
Public attention has been focused on Zeman’s health condition for several months because the president appeared tired on a number of occasions and he considerably lost weight. His doctors recently said his physical and mental condition was good. He only suffered from diabetes and polyfunctional neuropathy impairing the sensitivity of his feet, which has been known for some time, they said. They dismissed the idea that Zeman suffered from cancer.
Zeman refused to take part in debates with the other presidential candidates before the first round of the election. His critics said this was also because he did not want to show how bad his health condition was.
Presidential candidate Mirek Topolanek, who failed to advance from the first round last weekend, claimed that Zeman would not be able to exercise his post for another five years due to being ill.
