One of my favorite stories out of Europe in the past few months is the tale of the mountaineering mayor. Pavel Bem, the mayor of Prague, got approval this week from the Prague city council this week to take a two-month unpaid leave of absence. Health problems? Nope, on the contrary. He's taking the time off to climb Mount Everest.
Bem says that it's his dream to climb the mountain, and apparently the only time it fits into his schedule is right now. Oh, he promises to be back within 48 hours if an emergency occurs, but of course an emergency is more likely to happen climbing Everest than in Prague, barring an unforeseen beer shortage in the city.
I can think of a lot more elected officials who should climb Everest, that's for sure.