Joint meeting of both chambers of the Parliament, at which the newly elected President Petr Pavel took his oath into the hands of Senate President Miloš Vystrčil (right), March 9, 2023, Vladislavský sál, Prague Castle. On the left, Speaker of the House and TOP 09 Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
Prague – Senate President Miloš Vystrčil (ODS) and Speaker of the House of Representatives Markéta Pekarová Adamová (TOP 09) have already arrived at the Prague Castle for the inauguration of the new President Petr Pavel. Upon arrival, Vystrčil greeted supporters in the third castle courtyard.
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Photo gallery: President-elect Petr Pavel and his inauguration
Other guests from the ranks of MPs, senators, ambassadors or unsuccessful candidates for the head of state, including Senator Pavel Fischer, economist Danuše Nerudová and MP Jaroslav Bašta (SPD) started arriving at the Castle before 1:00 p.m. .
“He has a historic chance to unite the divided halves of society. I hope he will comply with our request and veto the unconstitutional and retroactive anti-social proposal to take pensioners' money,” ANO chairman and ex-prime minister Andrej Babiš, whom Pavel defeated in the second round of the election, told journalists. He was alluding to the controversial government proposal on the reduced valuation of pensions, which passed the House of Representatives and the Senate. “If he did that, I think it would get huge support from the voters who voted for me,” he says. He thinks that Pavel will be a professional president.
Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) is also present. “I see this position as the most important from an ethical and moral point of view,” Svoboda told reporters. He did not want to evaluate Pavlov's predecessor, Miloš Zeman. He considers Pavlo's basic quality to be that he knows how to behave and that he has a great deal of knowledge about the shape of today's world.
According to the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Radek Vondráček (ANO), a certain generosity towards Zeman would be in order, as he was elected twice in direct election, he was the chairman of the party, the government and the House of Representatives. “In some 50 years, maybe even earlier, he will be written about in a completely different way than today,” he said. Regarding Pavel, the ANO vice-chairman said that it is a positive sign that he will meet with representatives of the opposition before deciding on the pension amendment.
SPD Chairman Tomio Okamura hopes that Pavel will defend the interests of Czech citizens. He said of Zeman that he was a distinctive personality.
The presidential oath is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at a joint meeting of both chambers of Parliament. It will traditionally be held in the Vladislav Hall at Prague Castle in the presence of about 800 guests. It was preceded by a lunch between Pavel and Zeman and their wives.
