Then Czech President Vaclav Havel (R) shakes hands with singer Karel Gott before a charity concert at Prague Castle on a file photo. After the Czech Parliament has recently failed twice to elect Havel‘s successor, a group of rock musicians and entertainers came with an idea on 05 February 2003, that well known Czech pop star Karel Gott might be the right candidate for the post. PHOTO – ČTK/EPA

PRAGUE – Finding a successor to former Czech President Vaclav Havel was always going to be a tough job. But few thought the country would look for help from the divine. A group of musicians did just that on Wednesday, proposing pop star Karel Gott — Gott means God in German — the king of Czech pop music who has topped charts for much of the past four decades and sold millions of records in Germany. Wearing a T-shirt with Gott‘s picture on the chest and „Gott mit uns“, or „God with us“, written on the back, Petr Peceny said the singer would be a unifying figure if he succeeded respected anti-Communist dissident and playwright Havel. „We believe that the name of Karel Gott is such that he could unite people to form an island of reason which would create a counterbalance to other institutions,“ Peceny told a packed news conference. Gott, 63, was not present but said in a statement he would consider running for the largely ceremonial role if there was a direct vote by the people. The likelihood that the Czech public would be asked to vote for a new president increased after parliamentarians twice failed to agree on a successor to Havel, whose final term expired on 2nd February after 13 years in power. Reuters