President Klaus Teased for Stealing Pen During News Conference Video

by hearit

Czech media is giving President Vaclav Klaus a hard time -- teasing the world leader after a viral video shows him discreetly pocketing a ceremonial pen during his visit to Chile. Viewers are calling it theft, or at least he kind of makes it look that way.

Entitled "The Czech Republic's president steals a pen," the YouTube video's been making rounds in the popularity contest -- originally logging 100,000 views in just a couple days, followed by a million, then over 4.5 million in less than four days after going viral.

The brief video shows President Vaclav Klaus admiring the pen -- during a news conference with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera -- then holding the pen under the table before he appears to put it in his pocket.

"Even though protocol allows Klaus to take the pen, with which the foreign minister signed a transport agreement, as a souvenir, Internet users are branding the Czech president as a thief," Czech media representative Mlada Fronta Dnes wrote.

Presidential spokesman Radim Ochvat said Klaus had a right to take the pen, given to presidents and delegations on state visits. "We at the Prague Castle always give such a pen to delegations, along with a notepad." It hasn't stopped the press from teasing the world leader about under-the-table pocketing.