EX-PRIME MINISTER, FORMER NATO GENERAL TO FACE OFF IN CZECH RACE

In an election more important for what it ends than what it will bring, the Czech Republic completed the first round of voting for a new president Saturday, starting the eclipse of an eccentric, hard-drinking incumbent who often put himself at odds with the Czech government and European allies by reaching out to Russia and China.

With nearly all the votes counted, official results showed that none of the eight candidates running to replace President Milos Zeman, who is barred by term limits from running again, had won a clear majority. A runoff election will be held in two weeks between the top two finishers, both of whom favor closer relations with the West and the NATO alliance.

No matter which of the top two candidates — a former NATO general, Petr Pavel, who won just over 35 percent of the vote, and a billionaire former prime minister, Andrej Babis, who got around 35 percent — eventually triumphs, the departure of Zeman, the Czech president for the past decade, should put the country’s foreign relations back on an unambiguously pro-western path.

The presidency is mostly ceremonial, but Zeman used and, critics say, abused its limited powers to turn Prague Castle, the president’s grand official office, into an alternative foreign policy center focused on developing relations with the East rather than the West.

Just days before firstround voting started Friday, Zeman held a videoconference call with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, who called on Prague to “actively promote” China’s relations with Eastern and central Europe.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, who has often criticized China and whose appointment in 2021 Zeman tried unsuccessfully to block, said he looked forward to the post-zeman era.

“Of course, Zeman has a different view of certain areas and used to push quite heavily for more relaxed positions on Russia and China,” he said, adding that his departure should bring “a major new impulse” to Czech foreign policy.

“After 10 years there will be a new figure sitting in Prague Castle, and I take this as a big opportunity,” Lipavsky said.