New Year with Czech President

The President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus changes the settings of his annual presidential speech. Usually, we have seen Klaus next to his little speech-table in the presidential study room, accompanied by the sound of Smetana’s Libuse. 1st January 2008 should be different – Klaus will be at the Prague Castle courtyard, people standing behind him.

The president so chooses the typical setting of American presidents speeches, with a clear message: people are behind me, they support me. And why he would do that? This is the fifth speech, so the last one in his functional period. And the speech comes a month before the presidential elections, where he wants to succeed as the future head of the state.

His endeavor is interesting in the context of not agreeing with a television debate with Svejnar. He stated it would be contra-productive to the present state, as he has 281 supporters in the parliament.