The Czech Republic’s leader Milos Zeman may be censored from a traditional live presidential radio show and forced to pre-record it. The possible restriction comes after Zeman’s recent radio jibe, in which he eviscerated the Russian punk band Pussy Riot.
“Czech Radio chiefs are going to address the issue of the format of traditional interviews with the country's president [during] 'Talks from Lany' (the countryside residence of the Czech president), with the possibility of changing it to a prerecorded interview,” Czech Radio spokesman Jiri Hosna told Rossiya Segodnya's Sputnik news agency.
The move is linked to Zeman’s use of swear words live on air, he
explained.
The Czech Radio Council recently ruled that the 70-year-old
violated media law during his rant on November 5. When questioned
about the anti-Putin punk band Pussy Riot, who were jailed for
hooliganism after staging a protest performance in a Moscow
cathedral in 2012, Zeman called them “f**ked-up” and
“b***hes,” and translated the band’s name using the
Czech word “c***s.”
Zeman later refused to apologize for his comments, insisting that
Pussy Riot were the vulgar ones.
But the wing-clipping from Czech broadcasters marks a new low in
a month that has seen the president’s popularity collapse from 58
to 37 percent.
Earlier, the politician, who was elected last year, played down
the violence against protesters fighting the communist regime in
1989, and waved off the events of Tiananmen Square when
questioned about them during an official visit to China.
Combined with numerous statements refuting the West’s accusations
that Moscow has used force in Ukraine, and calls for Europe to
recognize Crimea as part of Russia, Zeman’s public opinions have
cast severe doubts on his commitment to pro-Western policies and
values, which are believed to be shared by the majority of
Czechs.
The latest polls show that more than two-thirds of Czech
respondents think that Zeman is a poor representative of the
country on the international stage.
"From now on, Mr President will have to think over his
communication strategy to explain really perfectly and precisely
why is he taking his steps," Presidential Office foreign
affairs chief Hynek Kmoníček told Czech Television earlier this
week, promising he would talk to Zeman.
But the media speculated that this is unlikely to save the
floundering leader – who is more popular in the heartlands than
the cities – from an ongoing voter backlash.
Zeman was pelted with eggs during an anniversary celebration of
the fall of communism a fortnight ago, and on Monday, youth group
activists plan to stage another rally, calling for the
resignation of the politician.