The new Czech president said he was sick, not drunk — even as video captured him struggling to negotiate stairs and propping himself against a wall for support during a national ceremony that’s supposed to be marked by gravitas.
President Milos Zeman, 68, is known as somewhat of a partyer who makes no apologies for his chain-smoking, fat-food-eating, alcohol-imbibing ways, The Associated Press reported. During his election campaign he even challenged, “If anyone has ever seen me drunk in my life, tell me when,” AP said.
But his latest escapade, at a somber and ceremonial event to display the Czech crown jewels, crossed a line and captured the attention of even hard-core drinkers who would normally turn a blind eye to Mr. Zeman’s drunken behavior.
His stumbling performance — and subsequent denial of drunkenness and insistence of illness — has been mercilessly mocked on various social media sites.
An example: One picture showed a Czech drinker sloshing down beers at a bar with the accompanying text, “Here I am getting a virus,” AP reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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