On March 27th, it was reported that new Czech President Petr Pavel and his team were set to move from the Hrzan Palace to Prague Castle, where he will begin using his new office later in the day. The Presidential Office team has already inspected the Castle premises designated for the president, family, and office, and they are now in order. However, the team is still waiting for the final report on the inspection.

Pavel had been using the Hrzan Palace, provided by the government after his election as head of state, since late January. Despite his presidential inauguration on March 9th, he remained there amid concerns of possible wiretapping devices at Prague Castle. The Castle premises have now been thoroughly checked for security by the relevant state institutions, and Pavel plans to use the same office as his predecessors Milos Zeman, Vaclav Klaus, and Vaclav Havel.

The Castle premises are being inspected gradually, with the rooms for the president, First Lady Eva Pavlova, and Presidential Office head Jana Vohralikova already checked. The areas are now in order, but the president’s team is still waiting for the inspection report. The Lumbe Villa near the Castle, where the presidential couple will stay on weekdays, is also set to be inspected and modified, with the interior to be repainted and the furniture slightly upgraded. Pavel announced that this will take a few weeks.

Pavel plans to spend his weekends back at his home in Cernoucek, near Litomerice in the Usti region. This week, he plans to visit the Moravia-Silesia Region, where he will meet with regional governor Ivo Vondrak and Ostrava Mayor Tomas Macura, who supported him in the presidential election. He also intends to visit the Darkov mine and the Hyundai car plant in Nosovice and meet with students from the University of Ostrava and the Petr Bezruc grammar school. Moravia-Silesia will be the first region Pavel will visit after his inauguration. Before assuming the presidency, he visited the Usti and Karlovy Vary regions.

In conclusion, the new Czech President is settling into his new office at Prague Castle after concerns of wiretapping devices. His team has inspected the Castle premises, and the Lumbe Villa is set to be inspected and modified. Additionally, he plans to spend his weekends at his home in Cernoucek and has announced his first region visit as president to Moravia-Silesia.

Article by Prague Forum