The president in a parliamentary republic is not the most important figure.
Yes, of course, he is respected as a symbolic first person in the state, but, like a constitutional monarch, he reigns, but does not rule.
How much do we hear about the President of Italy or Germany?
Not too much.
All real powers remain with the pre-Council of Ministers.
But it's the same in the Czech Republic.
Perhaps, of course, another Czech president is more popular than a German or Italian, but these are purely his personal characteristics.
For example, the current president Milos Zeman always looked important, spoke courageously and did not behave like a gray mouse.
Hence his fame.
Moreover, he had little or no real influence on politics.
The biggest thing is symbolic gestures.
But the parliamentary president himself has a time when he must show himself to the people.
This is, firstly, the formation of a new government, and secondly, the resignation of the previous one.
And there and there he must sign.
If he cannot do it for health reasons, the state mechanism will fail.
In general, the problem is, of course, solvable - there are no desperate situations.
Since October 10, the President has been in the Central Military Hospital in the intensive care unit.
He will be claimed by the republic in sound mind and memory in two weeks - at the beginning of November, when it will be necessary to represent the new government.
Until that time, both doctors and politicians can decide what to expect, whether there is hope and whether it is time to prescribe and.
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or the patient, God willing, will recover in the next two weeks.
But the fact is that the situation is not only medical, but also political.
Zeman himself, with his perky disposition, never particularly sought to please his colleagues (especially right-wing liberal ones), and now they are very impatient, unable to wait.
Their position is “The doctor said:“ To the morgue, ”which means to the morgue."
If the doctors are mistaken and the patient is worse than they thought, then let him recover and recover at rest.
Article 66 of the Czech Constitution, however, does not know the automatic reverse gear.
If the president was removed from his duties for health reasons, and then “they brought him home, he turned out to be alive,” and even quite active, this does not mean anything.
Reinstatement requires a complex procedure.
That is, the situation is extremely asymmetrical. Since 2013, the president of the Czech Republic has been elected by popular vote (by the way, Zeman was the first to go through such elections). It is generally believed that the mandate of a popularly elected one is, if not more extensive, then at least stronger than that of a person elected in parliament. But a parliamentary vote under Art. 66, and then prove yourself that you are already quite cheerful and can continue to fulfill presidential duties.
It is unlikely that there was a deliberate evil will of the legislator, rather, they simply did not think about it.
Moreover, constitutional mechanisms often fail - even in autocracies, even in wonderful democracies - when they are faced with a dashing disease of the first person.
It is immediately apparent that it was smooth on paper.
See, for example, Prime Minister Churchill's stroke in the early 1950s.
There were a lot of interesting things.
But be that as it may, conscious ill will or unconscious, but, speaking cynically, Zeman's illness turns out to be very useful against the background of a strong turn of the Prague politics to the right and all around to the west.
Zeman's undisguised left inclinations (in fact, he at one time created a strong Social Democratic party), as well as his pro-Moscow sympathies today do not at all correspond to the political weather on the Vltava, where they now fell in love with liberalism with a belated nervous love.
Figures like Zeman look like dinosaurs from the Jurassic period there.
Meanwhile, if the president improved his health, his term of office would expire only in 2023 - the wait is a very long time.
I would like to resolve the issue much earlier, which is now happening with all frankness.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.