Power struggle between Czech minister and president
In the dispute over President Petr Pavel's refusal to appoint Filip Turek, honorary president of the co-governing party Motorists for Themselves, to a ministerial post, the party's leader, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, has upped the stakes. He has threatened that if Pavel continues to refuse he will inform Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte that Pavel is disregarding the constitution and therefore unfit to represent the country at the 2026 Nato Summit in Ankara in July.
Pavel's dilemma
This is basically a conflict of principles between the government and the president, Hospodářské noviny observes:
“Andrej Babiš's government, which includes the party Motorists for Themselves and the [far-right] SPD, has a completely different world view to the president. Familiarity versus openness, defeatism versus resolute defence, indifference versus adherence to principles, nationalism versus European cooperation. In view of the weakness of the democratic parties, the president sees himself as the main opponent of the government's policies. He has become the leader of the opposition, at least in the eyes of the voters. This is a problem for him because when he stands for re-election in two years' time, he will no longer be able to play the 'independent candidate' card.”
Macinka an amateur in blackmail
Lidové noviny examines the foreign minister's threat:
“It quickly became apparent that Petr Macinka had no real leverage. His supposed lever was the president not being allowed to lead the Czech delegation to the next Nato summit. This threat is more grotesque than frightening. It turns out that the foreign minister not only used inappropriate language but also flunked the basic rules of blackmail: a threat that is not backed up by the power to enforce it is simply embarrassing.”
Trumpisation of the political stage
Reflex draws a comparison with political disputes in the US:
“The dispute over the (non-)appointment of Filip Turek as minister has escalated into an open war between President Petr Pavel and the co-governing party Motorists for Themselves, which is represented in this duel by its leader Petr Macinka. Macinka had already announced before Christmas that he would fight Pavel if the head of state refused to back down in the Turek dispute. And this is what has happened. But the way in which scores are being settled via text messages or social media is wreaking havoc in Czech politics. Political disputes are degenerating into a display of stupidity in which we witness the Trumpisation of our political stage.”