Babiš and Pavel Make Peace After NATO Summit Dispute

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš met with President Petr Pavel on Sunday and said that the tension between them was now a thing of the past. He revealed the meeting in his traditional Sunday video address on social media, noting that it was the president who had requested the visit.

“The president asked for a meeting, so of course I agreed to see him,” Babiš said, adding that he received Pavel at the government building. “There’s no problem between the president and me, so the media can stop playing the same old record. There’s no feud between us,” the prime minister stressed.

Babiš said further meetings with the president would continue as needed, depending on current issues. “I hope this is behind us now,” he said. The two discussed upcoming foreign trips, among other things, and the prime minister said he explained to Pavel that he had been wrong to veto the amendment to the budgetary rules, which the Chamber of Deputies overrode this week.

The Dispute Over the Overridden Veto

After a two-day parliamentary session, the ruling coalition — the ANO, SPD and Motorists parties — overrode President Pavel’s veto of the amendment to the budgetary rules. The changes ease several restrictions on the growth of public spending and debt. The opposition sharply criticized the amendment and said it plans to challenge it before the Constitutional Court.

A Month Ago, Babiš Was Still Refusing to Meet

Relations between the president and the prime minister soured over July’s NATO summit in Ankara. Pavel insisted on attending in person, while Babiš argued that only the government should represent the Czech Republic at the summit.

About two weeks before the summit, the cabinet decided not to include the president in the delegation. In response, Pavel filed a jurisdictional dispute with the Constitutional Court, which issued a preliminary ruling obliging the government to ensure his participation in the event.

Before the summit, Pavel had asked Babiš for a personal meeting, but the prime minister refused, saying that after the lawsuit was filed, he saw no point in talks. In Ankara itself, the two men did not speak to each other, and their delegations kept to themselves.

After the summit, Babiš also rejected Pavel’s proposal to resume regular consultations on foreign policy, citing differing views and lack of time. “Why should I coordinate anything with anyone — we have our own policy, there’s a government policy statement, and I don’t want to be part of his election campaign,” Babiš said at the time, accusing the president of seeking publicity ahead of the presidential election in early 2028.

The Constitutional Court has yet to issue a final ruling on the president’s jurisdictional complaint against the government. The final verdict will determine whether the government has the right to prevent the president from taking part in important international negotiations, and what support it is obliged to provide him.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz