'Drunk' Czech president Milos Zeman can hardly stand on ceremonial occasion 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 Out of sorts: Czech president Milos Zeman scratches his head at a public display of the crown jewels in the St Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle The new Czech president has denied being drunk in a video 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. Overcome with patriotism? Mr Zeman, standing next to Cardinal Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague, inspects the Crown of Saint Wenceslas at Prague Castle. His performance has sparked a wave of online gags 'Judge for yourself: Miroslava Nemcova, far left, the speaker for Parliament's lower house and one of seven holders of the keys to the crown jewels, was the only person to comment on Mr Zeman's condition 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. In video of the event broadcast on Czech TV, Mr Zeman can be seen closing his eyes in front of the cameras As he stumbled into the chamber where the crown jewels are kept, he had to prop himself up against a wall As he peers over the jewels, he leans heavily over the altar at St Vitus Cathedral on which they are arrayed And as he walks away, he has trouble with a small step and needs to lean on to a chair for support And it is not the first time that Mr Zeman had been apparently inebriated in public. Another video of Mr Zeman taken earlier this year shows aides forced to help him clamber from his car as he arrives at an event. His effusive geniality in this film suggests that, this time at least, he was not suffering from a virus. But something is clearly wrong as he stumbles over a step and nearly slams face first into the floor, just managing to catch himself on a chair where he slumps down and lights a restorative cigarette. In a video of another occasion uploaded to YouTube, Mr Zeman can be seen stumbling up some stairs The video then shows aides forced to help him clamber to his feet from a car seat arriving at another event Officials rush to help the Czech president as he stumbles down some steps and towards a chair He catches himself at the last minute, then slumps into the comfortable leather seat and lights a cigarette Mr Zeman's unsuccessful rival in this year's presidential election, the nobleman Karel Schwarzenberg, couldn't help but take a swipe at his opponent's taste for alcohol. 'Milos Zeman was in my opinion one of the most intelligent prime ministers this country has ever had,' Schwarzenberg said during the campaign. 'And had he not drunk so much he'd have been a really good prime minister.' Bur Mr Zeman insists he's so used to drinking that it never has any ill effects, and he has openly challenged anyone to prove otherwise. 'If anyone has ever seen me drunk in my life, tell me when,' he said during the presidential election campaign. Watch Milo Zeman's performance at the viewing of the Czech crown jewels Miroslava Nemcova, the speaker for Parliament's lower house and one of seven holders of the keys to the Czech crown jewels, was the only person at last week's event to comment on Zeman's appearance. 'I saw what you saw,' she was quoted as saying on the Lidove Noviny daily's website Friday. Judge for yourself.