Czech President Miloš Zeman will sign a new version of the pandemic law which the Chamber of Deputies recently approved, according to reports.
The government has defended the need for the legislation by introducing possible additional anti-coronavirus measures. The bill is now heading to the Senate with President Zeman promising to sign it if it passes.
“I will sign the law, but only after the amendments,” he told media on Sunday.
Regarding the original version, there were concerns expressed that the pandemic law would apply indefinitely and there were question as to why the quarantine of individuals could only be declared by text message.
In Sunday’s interview, Zeman also commented on the protests against the amendment, where the mock-up gallows emerged, accompanied by the inscription: “All traitors and their minions will end up on the gallows.”
The police concluded the gallows protest was not a criminal offense but did ask the creator to remove it. According to Zeman, the police should have been more strict and called for the demonstrators to be punished by imprisonment.
“The demonstration did not comply with the mandatory two-meter distance, the demonstrators did not wear face masks, and you already have sufficient reason to intervene here without changing the law,” he explained.
During the wide-ranging interview, Zeman also condemned the diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, claiming there was zero justification for the protest.
He spoke, among other things, about his possible successors. The incumbent Czech president will only be in office for a few more months. At the beginning of 2023, presidential elections will occur in the Czech Republic. So far, mathematician and billionaire Karel Janeček and former head of the Energy Regulatory Office Alena Vitásková have confirmed their candidacy.
According to Zeman, “several clowns” have so far entered the presidential competition. Vitásková who he praised for her progress against the so-called “solar barons.” Former prime minister, Andrej Babiš, whom Zeman supports, will also reportedly run for office.
