Why Mr. President, 'You Have Taken My Gloves!'

Pen-swiping might not have been Czech prez's first time
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 14, 2011 8:40 AM CDT
Vaclav Klaus: Pen-Stealing Czech President Might Have Purloined in the Past
In this combo of three pictures taken on April 4, 2011, Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus is seen thieving a pen as Chilean President Sebastian Pinera talks.   (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)

When Czech President Vaclav Klaus got caught not-so-subtly purloining a fancy pen from Sebastian Pinera, it looks like it wasn't an isolated incident. Klaus dismissed the thievery, saying, "All I have to say is, it is not a pen but just a stylus," and added that he swipes pens all the time, as is customary after signing an accord. But, as the Christian Science Monitor notes, he has pocketed more than pens: An Irish reporter tells of a 1991 dinner in which he unhanded her dinner gloves. "Why Mr. Klaus," she admonished him, "you have taken my gloves!” They were returned.

But Klaus won't be lacking for pens, notes the AP: A Facebook campaign to send him writing implements, because "Mr. president obviously has nothing to write with," has so far netted 5,000 participants. "The campaign is great because so many people were able to say they disapprove with Klaus, and they can do it in a relatively funny way," says one Prague student. (More Vaclav Klaus stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X