Tattooed professor running for Czech president Vladimir Franz, who has tattoos covering 90 per cent of his body, is one of eight candidates running in next month's Czech presidential elections. A lecturer in art at the Prague Film Academy, occasional composer and self-confessed punk, his completely tattooed face has become a feature of the election campaign, leaving some Czechs horrified by the thought of him attaining the highest office in the republic, and mingling with the great and the powerful on the international stage. But Mr Franz has also endeared himself to others, especially the young, with his unconventional and low-budget campaign, run by amateurs. He has even offered voters the chance to choose the colour of a tattoo to cover some parts of his body still un-inked. "This is about the adult tolerance of people, and my tattoos should not be perceived as a handicap, but as an added value," he told The Daily Telegraph, adding that when people say his appearance makes him unsuitable for office "you see that there are many remnants of totalitarianism still inside the Czech people." An independent candidate proud of having no political affiliation the 53-year old also comes untainted by the often corrupt party politics that has plagued the Czech Republic. Czechs have grown weary of a political system marred by frequent corruption scandals, and Mr Franz has put the fight against graft and the grey and questionable links between big business and parties high on his manifesto. He has also managed to exploit a change in the Czech election laws allowing the people to vote for the president as opposed to the previous system when parliament made the choice. But while opinion polls and political experts give him little chance of winning through to the second round of voting in March, which will see a run-off between the top two candidates, his face and bid for power has unsettled President Vaclav Klaus, the current resident of Prague's presidential palace. "I'm afraid that sitting here next year will be Franz," said Mr Klaus, who is obliged to step down after serving the maximum of two terms in office. The idea that the public can choose the president is not a good idea. It will come back to haunt us.