No holidays on the sea side or in exotic destinations, not this year. Just like many other Czechs, politicians are also planning to spend the upcoming summer in Bohemia's meadows and groves. In a holiday poll, LP-Life.cz revealed how the coronavirus messed up their vacation plans, as well as who they're going to be traveling with. But there are also exceptions - the Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová, for example, plans to skip vacation completely this year.
During the summer, most politicians turn into utterly normal holidaymakers, who like to lay around by the sea, indulge in some exotic luxury here and there, or go hiking in the mountains. Both the parliament and the government are in holiday mode and politics usually takes a slower pace in the summer.
This year, however, things will be different due to the coronavirus. In addition to the fact that most ministers will be working intensively to address the effects of the crisis and prevent the state economy from collapsing, the majority of politicians are going to spend their summer holidays in the Czech Republic.
Where will they head to? We asked the ministers, party leaders as well as the president.
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Miloš Zeman: Lány and the beloved Highlands
President Zeman will start "vacationing" during the national holidays in July, his spokesman Jiří Ovčáček revealed. And he will spend the summer in the Czech Republic, which is already his tradition. "He will spend most of his time in Lány, where there is not only a beautiful castle park, but also a game park that has some wonderful places, such as the Presidential Lookout or a hunting lodge in a magical forest valley. Lány is an ideal place for a quiet stay with the family. During July, the president will also head to the beloved Vysočina region for a few days, to a cottage in Nové Veselí," said Ovčáček, adding that even during the holidays, he would occasionally bounce back to his presidential duties. Let's wait and see if he'll pull out his famous yellow boat in the heat of Vysočina and make a few rouds on the Veselí pond.
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Miloš Zeman s fajfkou v LánechSource: Facebook M. Zemana
Lubomír Zaorálek: Lover of Lakes
Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek will fit the picture of a typical Czech holidaymaker. He wasn't about to go to the sea, so the coronavirus didn't interfere with his plans too much. "I'm planning a vacation in the first half of August - during the government holidays. I plan to travel around Czech lakes, castles and monuments with my girlfriend. I can't say that coronavirus has somehow messed up my summer plans. Maybe just in the sense that, in addition to the Czech lakes, castles and monuments, I also wanted to go to Grustrow in the north of Germany for a couple of days. There are beatiful lakes in that area too, and one avoids the summer heat that I can't stand," Zaorálek told LP-Life.cz
Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček wanted to take the family to the north of Europe, but the coronavirus completely overturned his family holiday plans. "Originally we planned to go to Denmark with our family, we wanted to take the children biking, sleep in camps and so on. That has turned out to be possible, so we'll spend our vacation in the Czech Republic, go to Moravia and to Slovakia for a couple of days. We're already looking forward to it," said Minister Petříček.
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Jana Maláčová: She missed out on Portugal
Unlike her government colleague, The Minister of Labor Jana Maláčová was about to head south, but in the end she decided to tour the Czech monuments with her husband and son instead. "We were planning a family holiday in Portugal on our own wheels. But we're not mourning the holiday abroad, we've made peace with the fact that we'll stay here, in the Czech Republic," Jana Maláčová said for LP-Life.cz.
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Ministryně práce Jana MaláčováSource: Facebook J. Maláčové
Ivan Bartoš: Changing diapers instead of vacation?
Chairman of the Pirate Party Ivan Bartoš isn't planning anything special either. "This summer, the chairman will focus on family matters, while simultaneously preparing the campaign for regional and senate elections, which means he will travel around the Czech Republic," said his spokeswoman Karolína Sadílková. What she probably means by family matters is the birth of Bartoš's first child, which he is expecting with his wife Lydia. He didn't reveal if the baby will be born during the summer, but according to photos Bartoš has recently published, it is more than likely.
Tomio Okamura: Across the Czech Republic
The head of the SPD and the vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies was brief, but he still made it obvious that he will be traveling the Czech Republic mainly for the sake of work this year. "I am not planning any vacation yet, but I will be traveling around the Czech Republic," Okamura revealed, adding that this had been his plan even before the coronavirus, so he didn't have to make any adjustments.
Alena Schillerová: No holidays this year
The Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová will probably be the biggest workholic of this summer. Due to the coronavirus crisis, she will spend a lot of time at work and won't go on any special vacation. "I am not planning a vacation at the moment. The state of emergency may be over, but the effects of the coronavirus crisis on our economy have not disappeared, so I will keep working on mitigating them. And, of course, I will also prepare the budget for next year. In my free time, I will be with my family in Moravia," said the Minister for LP-Life.cz.
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Ministryně financí Alena SchillerováSource: Archiv A. Schillerové
