Prague, May 2 (CTK) – Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka declined the Czech Olympic Committee’s invitation to the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the interior and defence ministers are not ready to go either, although many soldiers and police are among Czech athletes, daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) writes on Monday.
It is highly embarrassing when athletes represent the country at the Olympics and not a single politician comes to root for them, Czech Olympic Committee (COV) head Jiri Kejval told the paper.
The politicians seem unwilling to travel to Brazil mainly because it is very far and they also consider Rio de Janeiro a risky destination.
Sobotka will not go to Brazil, but he is considering attending Euro 2016, the forthcoming football European championship in France. “It is more available,” he said.
Interior Minister Milan Chovanec said he would support the athletes from the Czech Republic.
Kejval said he asked Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky to attend the Rio Olympics already three times.
He said 60 athletes from the Czech army team Dukla will represent the country in Rio. He argued that the defence ministers visit small contingents of Czech troops deployed abroad as well.
Stropnicky told HN that he is still considering his participation.
“About half of our athletes are from Dukla and many have a chance of winning a medal. They would not feel happy if their minister did not come to support them,” he admitted.
The COV covers part of the costs of their participation in Olympics to the prime minister and the interior, defence and education ministers. Other ministers are not invited, however, the athletes would welcome their presence as well, the paper writes.
“It is outside the sphere of my interests. Moreover, I am concerned about the security situation,” Labour Minister Michaela Marksova said.
Terrorist attacks recently became more frequent and Brazil is known for high crime rates, HN writes.
Agriculture Minister Marian Jurecka said he gave the tickets for Olympics events to the employees of his ministry.
Jurecka said Rio is very far and his trip would bring about media criticism that he spends the money of the tax payers on travels to entertaining events.
Vice prime ministers Pavel Belobradek and Andrej Babis do not plan to go to the Olympics either.
It seems that the only representatives of the Czech cabinet will be Education Minister Katerina Valachova, who is in charge of sports as well, and Regional Development Minister Karla Slechtova. President Milos Zeman said previously that he would attend the Rio Olympics.
When the Summer Olympics were held in London four years ago, many Czech ministers and regional governors attended them. Then health minister Leos Heger even took part in the commenting of some of the sport events within the Czech broadcasting from London, HN writes.
On the contrary, Czech politicians showed very little interest in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. This was mainly because many Czech as well as world politicians boycotted the games due to the Russian involvement in the unrest in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea. Moreover, Czech parliament took a vote of confidence in Sobotka’s government at the time, the paper writes.
Kejval said the travel costs to Brazil are very high. Usually the total costs of the Czech sport team reach about 36 million crowns, but now it will be 49 million, he said.
To save money, a part of the athletes will fly to Rio de Janerio in the government plane along with minister Valachova and Senate chairman Milan Stech. Another part will fly with a delegation of Czech MPs who will be visiting three Latin American countries in August.
