Ex-Premier Opposing Cabinet Wins Czech Presidential Vote
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Former Prime Minister Milos Zeman was elected president of the Czech Republic in the country’s first direct vote following a campaign slamming the government’s austerity measures in the midst of a recession.
Zeman got 54.8 percent of votes after two days of balloting in a runoff that ended yesterday, the Prague-based Czech Statistics Office said. He defeated Karel Schwarzenberg, the millionaire prince and foreign minister, who promoted closer ties with the European Union following a decade under Vaclav Klaus, a critic of the bloc and the euro.