Czech President Milos Zeman leaves, opponents celebrate

By KAREL JANICEK
Associated Press

PRAGUE (AP) — Over the past 10 years, Czech President Milos Zeman has courted controversy. He sought a referendum on whether his country should leave the European Union, targeted migrants and joked about killing journalists. Many Czechs cheered the departure of their outgoing head of state Wednesday — with one activist group burning an effigy of Zeman and casting the ashes into Prague’s Vltava River. In his two consecutive terms in office, Zeman, 78, has polarized public opinion. Considered more pro-European than his euroskeptic predecessor, Zeman gradually used every opportunity to attack the EU. He also sought closer ties with China and became a leading pro-Russian voice in EU politics.