The opponents are gearing up for an election run-off on January 26 and 27 in a battle which is already being compared to that fought between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the United States Presidential Election in 2016.

The leader of the Party of Civic Rights, Mr Zeman, a 73-year-old who has courted the far-right in rejecting migrants from Muslim countries while pursuing warmer relations with Russia and China, was elected President of the Czech Republic in 2013.

He comfortably won Saturday’s first round of voting with 38.6 percent of the vote in a major blow to the EU.

A win by any of Mr Zeman's main rivals could mean that voices from the Czech leadership shift closer to the EU mainstream. 

His rival Jiri Drahos, 68, an academic and scientist who is something of an outsider in Czech political circles, finished a solid second on 26.6 percent with support from liberal voters attracted by his policies favouring EU integration.

He has also won endorsements from most of the other candidates eliminated in the first round, which, given that they represented 32.6 percent of the vote, makes him the slight favourite.

John Simpson, a BBC reporter, told the Today programme that "Eurocrats in Brussels" are praying that the incumbent Milos Zeman "does very badly".

Mr Simpson said: "The French, the Germans, the Eurocrats in Brussels are praying today that President Zeman does badly.

"In reality both Zeman and Drahos will do quite well, but not enough to win outright."

Since Brexit, Brussels has been claiming there is a strong feeling of unity among the remaining 27 member states yet the Visegrad Group, Czech Republic alongside Hungary, Poland and Slovakia say differently.

Czech presidents wield limited executive powers but from their office in Prague Castle they appoint prime ministers and represent the nation abroad.

They can also influence public opinion at a time when Czech political, economic and social debate shows similarities to that in the United States, France and Austria as well as in fellow post-Communist neighbours Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.

Czech voters, like others, are split between those who have benefited from European integration and those who fear the impact of globalisation and cultural change.

Tomas Klvana, a professor at NYU in Prague, was quick to draw parallels between Zeman's voter appeal and that of US president Mr Trump.

He said: “The pattern is affected by domestic issues but this is similar to Trump, turning to the same voters.

“On one side there are more successful, better educated, younger people not afraid of opening up, integrating economically... and (on the other) are people who are less successful, less educated, have lower income and live in smaller towns."

Mr Klvana also saw similarities between Mr Zeman and two other central European leaders, right-wing Polish party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who have both clashed with EU partners.

The two rivals are sharp contrasts to one another, with softly spoken and cerebral Mr Drahos at odds with Mr Zeman, who drinks and smokes heavily and has been known to pepper debates with colourful language.

Mr Zeman is targeting people who may be wavering support for his opponent be taking a tough stance on migration, said Marek Vocel, a former campaign leader for Karel Schwarzenberg, who lost to Zeman in the last election in 2013.

He said: “The aim of Zeman's team will be to discourage those voters who are not rock-solid from voting for Drahos.

“Migration is a theme that moves almost everybody. I would expect that to feature in the debates.”

As well as the support of the Communists, Mr Zeman can also boast the backing of the far-right SPD party.

And in a signal that the fight is about to get dirty in the days to come, Mr Drahos has been forced to deny allegations that he was once an informer for the Communist secret police.

"My adversaries are hoping that if they ram down people's throats that I was an StB collaborator or a paedophile, it will stick with someone,” he told Czech daily paper Mlada front Dnes.

“I know Milos Zeman will come with blows below the belt.” he told daily Mlada fronta Dnes.

Mr Drahos's biggest declared campaign donations are from self-made businessmen, electronics firm founder Dalibor Dedek and real estate developer Ludek Sekyra, and asset management office BPD Partners.

Mr Zeman's donations include two million Czech crowns (£69,580) from a firm owned by arms industry entrepreneur Jaroslav Strnad, while Former President Vaclav Klaus, who also holds pro-Russian and anti-EU views, has backed Zeman.