Klaus unafraid of comparisons with illustrious predecessor Havel

A new week and a new president for the Czech Republic - President elect Vaclav Klaus will pay a visit to Prague Castle on Monday to carry out what he calls an "inventory", although how much he's planning to change remains unclear. More will be known after Friday, when Mr Klaus is inaugurated at a ceremony at Prague Castle. My colleague spent all last Friday - the day of Mr Klaus's election - at the Castle, Rob, an exciting day I imagine.

Vaclav Klaus, photo: CTK

It became exciting towards the end, but it started very much as the first two elections - hours of hanging around corridors outside Prague Castle's Spanish Hall trying to pick up gossip. Many journalists and politicians were saying before the third round that in their view no-one was going to be elected, and there would be a fourth election. But then, around half past five, an MP from Mr Klaus's Civic Democrats came sprinting down the corridor shouting "It's Klaus". That was followed by the biggest media scrum I think I've ever seen when he finally appeared. He gave a news conference shortly afterwards, and I asked him whether he was worried about being compared to his predecessor Vaclav Havel:

"This is my first sentence as a president in English, so maybe I should use a different kind of English...nevertheless, I take it as a great honour to be elected as the 10th president of this country. I take it really, fully seriously and knowing what it means, and I will try to be a good president of this country. I am not afraid of being compared - with anyone."

Vaclav Klaus won 142 of the 280 votes cast, so it was a narrow victory certainly. But what of the man who stood against him, the government's candidate Jan Sokol?

Jan Sokol and Vaclav Klaus, photo: CTK

Jan Sokol fell foul of power politics I'm afraid, it seems around 20 coalition MPs - probably Social Democrats - voted for Mr Klaus instead, sealing his fate. I spoke to him shortly after the results were announced. He wasn't bitter, but rather relieved:

"One goes into a competition with the hope that one will win it. But it would be ridiculous of me to be sour. It was a fair competition, I have been beaten by a very tight majority and I have congratulated my competitor. I wish the Czech Republic under his leadership the best."

Are you now secretly relieved to be returning to academia?

"Yes. A return to my normal civic life as a professor."

That was the defeated coalition candidate Jan Sokol, but turning back to Mr Klaus - has there been any reaction abroad to his victory?

There has, he's received telegrams of congratulation from all over, though there was a notably negative reaction among the European press. If I can just quote from some of Europe's newspapers - the two biggest papers in France - Le Figaro and Liberation - both described him as a "leading Euro-sceptic," Spain's El Pais said Mr Klaus was the "perfect antithesis of Mr Havel's humanistic ideals", and Britain's Guardian claimed his victory had cast doubt on the Czech Republic's membership of the European Union. That's a little extreme to say the least, but those reactions are an indication perhaps that Mr Klaus is not the most popular politician among our European neighbours.