Czech President Milos Zeman, arguably one of the most colorful politicians around, once again made headlines after torching a giant pair of red boxer shorts to mark the end of “underwear politics.”

Zeman called an impromptu press conference in the gardens of Prague Castle on Thursday, raising speculation that the 73-year-old leader, who reportedly suffers from poor health, was going to announce his resignation. Instead, journalists were treated with a little show, with the president burning a giant red pair of knickers resembling the pair that Czech pranksters had flown from a flag pole atop the presidential palace in 2015 in protest against Zeman.



“I apologize to the journalists whose intelligence I tested, unsuccessfully as always,” Zeman told reporters. The Czech president then proceeded to burn a giant pair of red underpants in a fire pit, assisted by two firemen in full gear.

Na Pražském hradě vlály obří rudé trenky. Pověsili je tam recesisté :-)Co vy na to ?foto: skupina Ztohoven pic.twitter.com/mkfyEYjKcA — Radio Krokodyl (@RadioKrokodyl) September 20, 2015

As the flames consumed the oversized underwear, Zeman declared: “The time of underwear in politics is over.” Addressing the journalists, he added: “I’m sorry to make you look like little idiots, you really don’t deserve it.”

It’s not clear whether the giant pair of underpants, measuring approximately one square meter, was the same used in the act of vandalism in 2015, or was a replica created expressly for burning at the unorthodox press conference.

Ztohoven put giant red boxer shorts over Prague CastleRead more:http://t.co/2krdHzVK7Kpic.twitter.com/JFFI9GExej — JobSpin.cz (@Jobspin_cz) September 20, 2015

Zeman is a seasoned veteran of press conference antics. Speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2017, the Czech leader called journalists “manure” and “superficial” before suggesting that they should all be “liquidated.”

Czech president Milos #Zeman who comes first at the presidential election first round today, threatened journalists with mock Kalashnikov during a press conference https://t.co/LbKDtsVO94#PressFreedom#CzechRepublic#Czechiapic.twitter.com/d9MuSKMDLk — Christophe Deloire (@chrisdeloire) January 13, 2018

In a separate episode, Zeman arrived at a press conference with a toy Kalashnikov in his hand labeled “for journalists.” The bizarre spectacle was complimented by the gun’s magazine – which had been replaced with a bottle of Czech alcohol.

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