Topolanek said that out of the services to which he was entitled, he used "fewer than one-third." Last year, too, Topolanek came under public criticism for having used the state plane.
The media and the opposition criticised him for having had a plane landed in Innsbruck to ski there during a return trip from an official visit to Bulgaria. This February, Topolanek rushed at the 150-kilometre speed to see a tennis match EU to open anti-dumping probe into US biodiesel ...
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Czech ODS presents regional election slogan, candidates ... between the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Brno. The commercial television station said last week that Topolanek (the Civic Democratic Party, ODS) flew from the Prague Kbely airport to watch the soccer European championship's final match in Vienna with a state plane. The trip was criticised by the opposition. Topolanek has dismissed the reports as "media harassment." Topolanek today stressed again that he had flown to Austria at the official invitation by Austrian authorities. "I strictly avoid any use of the government planes. When travelling to soccer as a fan, I use charter flights and I always pay the air tickets from my own wallet," Topolanek said. "However, when the Austrian chancellor invited me to the final of the European championship and the trip was approved by the government as an official visit to Austria, I naturally flew by plane and I see no reason for the criticism of the trip," Topolanek said. Topolanek said that as the prime minister he had the right to use the government planes at any time, including his staff. "The law does not define whether the transportation is for private or working purposes," Topolanek said. "In the case of a senior politician with a busy working programme at working days and often also at the weekends, it is often very difficult to separate what is private and what is public," Topolanek said. "A government plane is wrong, a car is wrong, if I hire a plane, it is also wrong," Topolanek said sarcastically. "I am really thinking of hitchhiking or going by a steamship to Austria," he added.
(Ceske Noviny)
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