Pavel Has Vetoed Fewer Laws Than Any Recent President, Yet the Government Still Isn't Happy

Czech President Petr Pavel has rejected only three laws during his time in office — the lowest number among the country's last four heads of state. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's government came down hard on the president after he sent a new fiscal responsibility law back to parliament.

As experts point out, the record for the most vetoes still belongs to Václav Klaus, who rejected 63 laws over his ten years in office, succeeding in blocking 11 of them for good. Klaus most often clashed with the government of Jiří Paroubek (ČSSD), vetoing 17 of its bills, including laws on public health protection and registered partnerships. Václav Havel comes second, with nine vetoes in his first presidential term and 16 in his second — though in the second term, lawmakers always overrode him. Pavel's predecessor, Miloš Zeman, rejected only ten laws over a decade and succeeded just once, thanks to an administrative error in a waste-management amendment.

Pavel's Three Vetoes

The current president first refused to sign a law in September 2024, when he sent back an amendment from Petr Fiala's (ODS) government that would have stripped courts with lay judges of the right to hear certain cases. In February of last year, Pavel vetoed a controversial amendment from the same government concerning the salaries of politicians and other public officials.

The third veto targeted the fiscal responsibility law drafted by Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) under the new Babiš government. It was this decision that triggered a sharp response from the authorities.

What the Government Says

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš called the veto "extremely irresponsible toward citizens," claiming it endangers healthcare, national defense, school construction and energy projects. "This only confirms that he is the leader of the opposition," the prime minister added.

Finance Minister Alena Schillerová wrote on X that she views the president's decision as a "flip-flop," noting that it was the president's own office that had previously sharply criticized the previous government's lack of budget transparency. She also called it odd that the president, as commander-in-chief, would veto measures meant to strengthen the country's defense capacity.

Why Pavel Rejected the Law

The president himself explained that, despite its technical wording, the fiscal responsibility law effectively rewrites the rules for managing public finances — not just for the current government, but for future ones as well.

Charles University political scientist Michal Malý believes the government's sharp rhetoric was predictable. In his view, with the opposition fragmented and lacking a clear leader, ANO has spent recent weeks "testing various slogans" to rally society against the president — and the "opposition leader" narrative has proven the most effective. At the same time, the analyst notes that all of Pavel's vetoes, including the latest one, were well argued.

What Comes Next

Experts expect the disputes between the president and the government to continue. Political scientist Josef Mlejnek of Charles University predicts that Pavel will veto the public media law, since he has already publicly voiced his disagreement with the bill.

Under the Czech Constitution, the president has 15 days to send a law passed by parliament back for reconsideration, along with his reasoning. The Chamber of Deputies then votes on it again, with no amendments allowed. If more than half of all deputies — at least 101 — vote in favor, the law takes effect; otherwise, it is considered rejected.

Source: novinky.cz