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Within hours of becoming the first directly elected head of state of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman made it clear that he has no intention of being a docile occupant of Prague Castle. Indeed, Mr. Zeman immediately questioned the legitimacy of the coalition government – and called for early parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, elements within his former party are also bracing themselves for trouble from the president-elect.

Miloš Zeman is set to become the first directly elected president in Czech history. Following a divisive campaign, the former Social Democrat prime minister defeated his second-round rival, Karel Schwarzenberg, by 55 percent to 45 percent. The outgoing head of state, Václav Klaus, has welcomed the result.

Miloš Zeman was the favourite against Karel Schwarzenberg in the presidential election so his win did not come altogether as a surprise; all the same, observers expected it to be a good deal closer. Radio Prague spoke to political analyst Petr Just about the result.

Earlier this month, construction began on a new four-floor centre in the city of Ostrava that will house the first Czech supercomputer. The site, which will house hundreds of processors and will employ between 150 and 250 staff, will have massive computing power capable of complex simulations in breakthrough fields such as nanotechnology. It is expected to begin full operation in 2015.

Only hours remain before Czechs go to the polls to elect either Miloš Zeman or Karel Schwarzenberg as the next Czech president. Both are no longer touring the country and began preparing instead for a final series of media interviews and debates. Wednesday saw the candidates face off on Czech Radio and commercial broadcaster TV Nova; on Thursday viewers will have a last chance to see the two in a final debate on Czech TV.

In the future visitors to the Czech countryside could come across a species not seen in this part of the world for a great many years: wild horses. A local wildlife organisation is at present preparing to import a small group of Exmoor ponies, with a view to eventually introducing the hardy British breed to former army training areas and unforested land in other remote parts of the country.

The Municipal Court in Prague says the entire amnesty announced by President Václav Klaus on New Year’s Day contravenes the Czech constitution – because it had not been previously discussed by the government. The prime minister says the move could open a whole can of worms: If the Constitutional Court agrees, the validity of previous amnesties could also come into question.

The Czech Football Association has suspended an investigation into a dispute that began four months ago, when Sparta Prague accused Viktoria Plzeň, at present its chief rival, of having bribed referees to influence a game. On Wednesday, the FA decided to wait for the results of a police investigation into the case before it takes a position. It has also said that it will no longer carry out its own inquiries into any such cases and will refer them to the police. I spoke to a reporter from the daily Sport, Pavel Kalouš, about the latest development

The Czech power giant ČEZ has had its license to operate Albania’s national grid revoked just three years after entering the market. The state regulator’s decision, announced on Monday, follows months of controversy over tariffs and unpaid bills. ČEZ is now counting its losses, estimated at around 5 billion crowns, and is weighing an arbitration suit against the Albanian government. Economic journalist Chris Johnstone says the Albanian investment was a calculated risk that failed to pay off.

Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych, seeded 5th at the Australian Open, hit a wall on Tuesday in the form of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Although he showed moments of inspiration, he lost two sets very lopsidedly, twice giving Djokovic easy leads. Berdych hung on briefly in the fourth, trying to claw his way back into the match, but it wasn’t enough.