A recent poll indicates that Jan Fischer, a former caretaker Prime Minister for the Czech Republic is the public’s favorite to win the Czech presidential elections. Public opinion will matter for little, however, when the elections are held in January or February 2013, as Czech presidents are chosen by the country’s two houses of parliament. In the poll, Fischer was followed by former prime minister Miloš Zeman, who is ahead of the economist Jan Švejnar. Švejnar’s popularity dropped 6 percentage points over the past few months, partly due to the fact that he’s been unwilling to confirm his candidacy officially. Increased media attention, on the other hand, has helped Zeman. The current Czech president Václav Klaus recently said his former political rival Zeman, whom Klaus beat in 2003, is the best candidate. Fischer won 36 percent in the poll, followed by Zeman with 12.5 percent and Švejnar with 11.5 percent.
