'Drunk' Czech president can hardly stand on ceremonial occasion but insists he is just suffering from a virus

Footage shows Milos Zeman clearly the worse for wear at a rare public display of the Czech crown jewels
But the president's office insisted he simply had a virus and needed a day or two of rest to recover

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Was he or wasn't he? 

The new Czech president has denied being drunk in footage of a state event which shows him clearly the worse for wear.

Footage shows Milo Zeman propping himself up against a wall, struggling to negotiate a step and being helped by a cardinal at a rare and highly-ceremonial public display of the Czech crown jewels last week.

The president makes no secret of his drinking. But on this occasion his office insisted he simply had a virus and subsequently needed a day or two of rest.

Since then, the video has prompted a storm of social media gags.

Czechs - by far the biggest beer drinkers in the world per capita - have been posting pictures of themselves in bars getting drunk with slogans like, 'Here I am getting a virus', or 'Heading out for a virus'.

His taste for the hard stuff does not go down well with all Czech voters though. One commenter on a YouTube clip showing the footage called the president a 'disgrace', while another said: 'This makes me wanna cry... whole world will laugh again.'

Mr Zeman, 68, a chain smoker and lover of fatty foods, often extols the virtues of booze. On one occasion, he praised Winston Churchill for his love of whisky and pointed out that Adolf Hitler was a teetotaler and vegetarian - 'and you know how he ended up.'

During a 1996 election campaign he said his campaign bus 'drove on gas and Becherovka,' a popular Czech liquor. 

Two years later he became prime minister.

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A tabloid in the Czech Republic once claimed he told the paper he would drink on average six glasses of wine - plus three shots - on any given day. 

It looked as if he may have had several more on the day of the viewing of the crown jewels. He is seen fighting to keep his head up and his eyes open. As he peers over the jewels, he leans heavily over the altar at Prague Castle's St Vitus Cathedral on which they are arrayed.

Watch Milo Zeman's performance at the viewing of the Czech crown jewels