Minister Macinka: Let Pavel Withdraw His Lawsuit Against the Government First

Czech Environment Minister Petr Macinka has sharply responded to President Petr Pavel's call for unity in Czech foreign policy. According to the minister, the Czech Republic does not have two foreign policies — there is only one, and it is set by the government.

The remarks followed Pavel's Tuesday address to Czech ambassadors at Prague Castle, in which the president urged officials to overcome internal disagreements for the sake of a united image of the country abroad. "To simply accept, shrug our shoulders, and say that the Czech Republic will now have two foreign policies — that's a path I'm not willing to accept," Pavel said. In his view, internal division only benefits the country's foreign rivals.

The president stressed that there is no such thing as a separate government team and a separate presidential team — there is only one Czech team. "I will keep trying to make sure we can overcome our internal disagreements on security issues and other matters — that we meet, negotiate, and seek compromise in the interest of the whole country," he added.

Dispute Over the Constitutional Complaint

Macinka responded: "If Petr Pavel meant this seriously, I would expect him to first withdraw the constitutional complaint he filed against the government."

Back on July 20, the government itself, in its official position on the complaint, asked the Constitutional Court not to allow the president to withdraw his filing, should he ever wish to do so. In the document, the cabinet stated that while it does not expect Pavel to invoke Article 123 of the Constitutional Court Act to withdraw the complaint, it nonetheless requested — for the sake of legal certainty — that the court refuse to approve such a withdrawal and instead proceed with the case, in case such a situation were to arise.

The president filed the complaint after the government refused to let him attend July's NATO summit in Ankara. The court, in a preliminary ruling, ordered the cabinet to ensure Pavel could travel, but a final decision on the underlying question of presidential powers has yet to be issued.

Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament Stay Silent for Now

The editorial team also reached out to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura (SPD) for comment on Pavel's remarks and to ask whether they plan to meet with the president. Neither has responded so far.

Back in July, Pavel called for resuming regular meetings among the country's top constitutional officials, but Babiš rejected the idea at the time. "Why should I coordinate anything with anyone? We have our own policy, we have the government's program statement, and I don't want to become part of his election campaign," Babiš told Czech Television back then.

In January, Pavel cancelled an already scheduled meeting of top constitutional officials after Prime Minister Babiš and Minister Macinka failed to show up — both were at a cabinet meeting at the time and did not appear even after the meeting was delayed by an hour.

Source: novinky.cz