Portside

'The first direct election of a Czech president has redrawn the political map of Bohemia and Moravia, making old distinctions visible. Milos Zeman won in all regions except the capital, Prague, but Schwarzenberg won majorities in most regional capitals. The Prague Castle was captured by the countryside. The milieu of the lower classes, the "bottom 10 million" as the next president said on the evening of his election, the villagers and farmers, the workers and unemployed, the lower employees and pensioners -- they asserted themselves against the new urban middle class. The losers in the changes to the social system beat out the winners. Zeman was correct in his announcement that the voters would render a decision between left and right.'