Czech president admits affair with stewardess

The president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, has admitted having an affair with a 28-year-old flight attendant. Mr Klaus, 66, who is married with adult children, made the comments after newspapers published pictures of him and Petra Bednarova being picked up by the presidential limousine after apparently spending a night together in a luxury hotel in Prague.Mr Klaus admitted that the photographs of him and Miss Bednarova were "neither a photomontage nor a coincidence". advertisement Asked how he was going explain the affair to his wife of 40 years, Livia Klausova, 64, he said: "I cannot explain that. And one cannot expect any understanding for that sort of thing."However, Mr Klaus did not respond to rumours that Mrs Bednarova could be pregnant. One of his staff, answering questions about the scandal on the internet, wrote: "I am a civil servant and not a valet."Mr Klaus, an economist, first won the presidency in 2003 and was re-elected last month. He served as prime minister between 1992 and 1997 and is credited for transforming his country's post- Communist economy with a series of Thatcherite reforms.Mr Klaus does appear to have a liking for young stewardesses. In 2002, he became involved with Klara Lohniska, a 24-year-old student and flight attendant.