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Czech President Milos Zeman leaves ICU amid political stalemate

November 05, 2021
Czech President Milos Zeman addresses the media in April 2019. (File)
Czech President Milos Zeman addresses the media in April 2019. (File)

PRAGUE — The president of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman has left intensive care at a Prague hospital, officials say.

Zeman has now been transferred to a rehabilitation unit, according to the hospital where he is being treated.

His release from intensive care comes as Czech senators consider declaring the president unfit for office.

Under the Czech constitution, the country's president appoints the next prime minister, but Zeman has been unable to mediate talks on forming a new government from hospital.

Czech media say the 77-year-old president is suffering from severe liver problems.

Zeman was hospitalized on October 10 -- one day after the country's parliamentary elections -- and spent more than three weeks in an intensive care unit.

"The president was transferred to a standard bed in the rehabilitation ward," Jitka Zinke, a spokeswoman for the Military University Hospital in Prague, said on Thursday.

"The president's clinical condition has improved," Zinke said, adding that he had been suffering health issues related to his "known chronic illness"

His ill-health was caused by "impaired nutrient and fluid intake," the spokeswoman stated. Zeman began using a wheelchair this year because of diabetic neuropathy that has affected his legs.

In October, the hospital said in a report that Zeman was unable to perform his duties.

But Zeman's office then released a video showing him in bed signing a resolution for the session of the new Czech parliament on November 8.

Zeman is due to receive Petr Fiala, leader of the center-right SPOLU (Together) coalition that narrowly won last month's general election.

The Czech President has previously allied with current prime minister Andrej Babiš. — Agencies


November 05, 2021
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