President Pavel pays private jet bill for election flight
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President Petr Pavel has released the receipts for his vacation to Morocco. To ensure he was back in the country to vote in municipal elections, the president paid €15,000 for a private flight and a further €3,750 for the holiday from his own pocket. It was a costly way to cast a ballot, but one intended to keep the presidential office and the private traveler on separate ledgers.
The second round of Senate elections has begun in 22 constituencies, though the math is already settled: the opposition is certain to keep its majority in the upper house regardless of the weekend's results. Elsewhere, the lower house postponed a debate on increasing healthcare payments for pensioners and students because of an error in the committee minutes. Bureaucracy moves at its own pace, even when the budget is at stake.
Demolition has begun on the Liblice B transmitter, the country’s tallest structure and a relic of the era when radio required massive steel towers. At the Temelín nuclear plant, engineers have disconnected the first block for a two-month maintenance shutdown. The grid will do without its power while safety systems are inspected and fuel is replaced.