Fair enough: Petr Pavel arrived at the festival and then went to see the emperor in Japan. However, the presidential coin has two sides.
Summer is a time of vacations not only abroad, but also at home. Holidays in the domestic groves and groves are also sought by Czech politicians, or at least they claim to. Petr Pavel likes to visit sports and cultural events. He did not miss the music festival in Ostrava and the restored MotoGP in Brno. He then had to cross half of the globe to attend a meeting with the Japanese emperor, who rarely invites presidents and prime ministers. But every summer ends once.
Vaclav Havel had his pubs and beer places, where he did not hesitate to invite the American president (his successors never received an invitation for beer from American presidents), Václav Klaus enjoyed tennis and trips to Snezka mountain, Miloš Zeman had a rubber boat on a pond somewhere in Vysočina, and Petr Pavel enjoys motorbikes and rock festivals.
The president is just a person and the Constitution does not prohibit representing the Czech Republic in a human way. Of course, the president will always look a bit funny. With a giant camera, the "biker" president looked a bit like a child with a new toy that he wouldn't let go of. When Klaus was beating politicians in tennis tournaments and bragged about how he keeps score for every game he indulges in, it didn't make him seem much more mature.
Handling a camera trigger or playing tennis with amateurs is a very pleasant part of the presidency. Let's add that it's almost a mandatory part. If the president were constantly holed up in his castle office, he would neither enjoy the top office nor get distant from his simple voters and supporters.
When the weekend is over, it's time to go back to work. Currently, for Peter Paul, it meant getting on a plane and embarking on a state visit to Japan. He is also expected to meet with the Japanese Emperor Naruhito. The Japanese place great importance on the symbolism of their gestures.
Naruhito only occasionally meets with presidents and prime ministers. This year he met only with Brazilian President Luiz da Silva. He primarily meets with representatives of reigning families in monarchies. Thus, the reception of the Czech president carries a certain stamp of exceptionality.
It sounds like a great summer chill, but sunny months are always followed by autumn. Through an interview included in the Colour of Ostrava festival program, the president described his presidency so far as "pleasant". But every coin has two sides.
"Almost everyone can imagine, it's a complete loss of privacy. Even though one may look forward to returning to normal life, it will never be quite as normal as before. One has to mentally prepare for it and it is more challenging than being in a crowd, but alone,"
he admitted in an interview with the moderator ČRo about the pitfalls of the presidential profession.
He also reminded of the upcoming electoral autumn, where he will have to play his key political role regarding the negotiation towards the construction of the next government. This dual role has historically belonged to the presidential craft.
The head of state is on one hand a professional, highly privileged vacationer and at the same time the supreme authority directing our country. Václav Havel was supposed to be a pillar of communist revisionism, which was nothing compared to how isolated Edvard Beneš remained in the fight against the Nazis and later the communists.
No one knows how the elections will turn out. However, the political map has changed quite a bit, at least in the mirror of public opinion polls, and Pavel admitted that he is preparing for a tough confrontation with political actors. Many are openly trying to leave NATO and the EU, which the president intends to allow perhaps over his political dead body, as he has expressed many times. This confrontation, however, doesn't seem like another "vacation" in office.
