Prague Castle premises have now been thoroughly checked for security by the relevant state institutions. Photo credit: ZM / Brno Daily.
Prague, March 27 (CTK) – New Czech President Petr Pavel and his team will move from the Hrzan Palace to Prague Castle today, and he is to start using his new office there this afternoon, his spokeswoman Marketa Rehakova told CTK. As a result, she said, the president’s regular press conference is cancelled today.
The Castle premises, designated for the president, their family, and office, have already been inspected and are now in order. The Presidential Office team is yet to receive the final report on the inspection, Rehakova added.
Pavel has been using the Hrzan Palace, provided to him by the government after his election as head of state, since late January. He remained there even after his presidential inauguration on 9 March, amid concerns of possible wiretapping devices at Prague Castle. The Castle premises have now been thoroughly checked for security by the relevant state institutions.
Pavel previously told CTK that he would use the same office at the Castle as his predecessors Milos Zeman, Vaclav Klaus and Vaclav Havel.
Rehakova said the castle premises are being inspected gradually, while the rooms for the president, First Lady Eva Pavlova and Presidential Office head Jana Vohralikova have already been checked. According to Rehakova, 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 be staying on weekdays, is also to be inspected and modified. The interior must be repainted and the furniture slightly upgraded, which will take a few weeks, Pavel said last Monday.
He previously announced that he would like to spend his weekends back at his home in Cernoucek, near Litomerice in the Usti region.
Pavel plans to visit the Moravia-Silesia Region this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he will meet regional governor Ivo Vondrak and Ostrava Mayor Tomas Macura (both previously ANO), who supported him in the presidential election. He also intends to visit the Darkov mine and the Hyundai car plant in Nosovice and meet 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.
