The end of an era: A look back at Zeman’s most outrageous moments on his last day in office

As President Miloš Zeman's second presidential mandate ends today, let's have a look at the good, the bad, and the funny moments in the last decade, including some moments that made for some amusing and often bizarre video memories.

Zeman has been repeatedly criticized for his friendly attitude toward China and for promoting collaboration with the country as the Asian state faces allegations of human rights violations.

His pro-Russian stance dampened toward the end of his mandate, and in his Christmas message to the nation last December he said that Russian aggression was a threat to global and Czech security. He also recounted highlights of his term in office and said that in retirement he would remember his supporters and forget about his critics.

He also drew criticism in 2020 for saying that the slogan of the U.S. protests, Black Lives Matter, is racist because all lives matter. His views on transgender people, whom he called “disgusting,” also made international headlines and sparked a storm of negative comments on social media.

Still, his populist rhetoric earned him many domestic supporters, with a Public Opinion Research Centre (CVVM) poll conducted in 2019 showing Zeman to be the second most trusted constitutional official.

The disenchantment that others felt was best summed up by protesters in January, who brought to Prague Castle a box with items symbolizing Zeman's presidency. These were a bottle of Becherovka, an inflatable boat, and red boxer shorts, which referred to a 2015 prank in which artists from the Ztohoven collective replaced the presidential flag with red boxer shorts.

During a 2017 visit to the Pilsen region, Zeman received an assault rifle with the inscription "for journalists" and a bottle of Becherovka instead of a cartridge clip, which he seemed keen on testing, according to Aktuálně.cz. The gift was a reference to his self-confessed dislike for journalists.

During the 2018 election campaign, a topless activist with "Zeman, Putin’s Slut" written across her chest stole the spotlight from Zeman at a polling station, RFE/RL reported. He later said he felt "honored to be attacked by a member of the Femen movement, which has also attacked the pope."

A man of simple pleasures, Zeman has repeatedly professed his love for paddling in a pond near his chata in the Vysočína region, iDnes reports. Before climbing onto his yellow rubber boat, Zeman called this "an annual ceremony that I won't miss for the rest of my life." He added that even if he were on crutches, "I will put the crutches away, someone will load me into a boat, maybe my wife and I will have a good swim."