Before and after

If we disregard Šárka Grossová, the CR has had good luck with the wives of its presidents and prime ministers. Mrs. Zeman and Mrs. Tošovský were invisible, but the rest have represented the CR well. They've excelled by remaining themselves. Mrs. Gross was the notable exception, and the second Mrs. Havel also had her ups and downs. Mrs. Paroubek got off to a rather bad start. The tabloids called her a witch, and even the serious press pointed out some of her foibles (she thought English writer Daphne du Maurier was French, Euro noted). Martin Fendrych of Týden thought the usual PR machine was going make a political virtue of her plainness, but instead she caved in to the pressure and underwent a complete makeover. Photographer Jakub Ludvík has clearly found her good side, but somehow it seems the tabloids scored a big victory this time.