President Pavel Invites Prime Minister Babiš for Talks at Prague Castle

A dispute over “extortionate” text messages from Foreign Minister Petr Macinka to the advisor of President Petr Pavel is causing unrest in Prague. On Wednesday, a clarifying meeting between Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is scheduled to take place at Prague Castle.

The Czech President Petr Pavel has invited Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to a meeting at Prague Castle on Wednesday. According to Pavel, the reason for the meeting is “extortionate” text messages from the Foreign Minister to his advisor. The aim of the meeting is to reduce differences between the Head of State and the Government.

The talks follow the publication on Tuesday of text messages sent by Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motoristé sobě) to Pavel’s advisor. Pavel described the messages as “extremely serious” and as an attempt at extortion. Macinka himself rejects this interpretation. Babiš expressed his gratitude for the invitation. Ideally, he would have preferred President Pavel to resolve the dispute directly with Macinka but respects his decision and hopes for a calming of the situation.

The background is the conflict between the Head of State and the Chairman of Motoristé sobě and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka over the non-appointment of Filip Turek (Motoristé sobě) as Minister of the Environment.

Babiš stated that the Government, consisting of ANO, SPD, and Motoristé sobě, has no interest in a trench war with Prague Castle (the President’s residence). Macinka’s messages were poorly worded; at the same time, he expressed understanding for the disappointment of Motoristé sobě over Turek’s non-appointment.

Citizens’ Initiative Calls for Support of Petr Pavel on Sunday at Old Town Square

On Sunday, the citizens’ initiative Milion chvilek pro demokracii is calling for a demonstration at Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) in Prague to support President Petr Pavel in the conflict with Foreign Minister Petr Macinka and to send a signal against political pressure.

The online campaign Stojíme za prezidentem, which calls for support in the conflict with Macinka, is about values such as freedom, democracy, respect for the law, and the Czech Republic’s anchoring in the EU and NATO – values that make the country secure and confident. As of 05:30 today, over 540,000 people have already signed the petition, according to the website.