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01/28/2026
The National Gallery Prague will mark the 230th anniversary of its founding this autumn with two major exhibitions, its director general Alicja Knastová said at a press conference on Wednesday.
One exhibition will focus on 90 years of Czech surrealism, while the other will explore the life and legacy of Queen Anna Jagiellon, who ruled around 500 years ago. Knastová said that fewer exhibitions will be held in Prague than in previous years, as the gallery can invest only a fraction of its usual budget.
The National Gallery will also take part in an exhibition at the Venice Biennale, presenting a joint project with the Slovak National Gallery in the Czech and Slovak Pavilion, which marks its 100th anniversary this year.
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01/28/2026
Opposition parties are seeking a vote of no confidence in the government over text messages sent by Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists’ Party) to President Petr Pavel.
The extraordinary session of the Chamber of Deputies will be convened by Speaker Tomio Okamura (SPD) on Tuesday next week, after the opposition collected the required 81 signatures.
Representatives of all five opposition parties announced the move at a press conference on Wednesday, arguing that Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) has failed to condemn Macinka’s remarks and has not clearly stated whether the minister still has his support.
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01/28/2026
Foreign Minister Petr Macinka has decided to introduce less strict rules for the movement of Russian diplomats in the Schengen area, despite the previous cabinet recently pushing through tighter EU-wide measures as part of sanctions against Russia, Deník N and Seznam Zprávy reported on Wednesday.
Under the new arrangement, Russian diplomats accredited in another EU country are now required only to notify Czech authorities of their visits. Prior approval from the Foreign Ministry is no longer necessary.
The stricter regime promoted by the previous government aimed to limit intelligence activity conducted under diplomatic cover. Although Czechia expelled most Russian diplomats following the 2014 attack on an ammunition depot in Vrbětice by Russia’s GRU intelligence service, holders of Russian diplomatic passports were still able to enter the country via the Schengen area.
The Foreign Ministry had planned to tighten the rules under former minister Jan Lipavský, but the changes were not implemented at the time. The relevant EU measure only came into force after the new government had taken office.
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01/28/2026
The ruling coalition of ANO, SPD and Motorists has no interest in a trench war between the government and Prague Castle, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Wednesday in response to the dispute between Foreign Minister Petr Macinka and President Petr Pavel.
Speaking at a session of the lower house, Babiš said Macinka’s messages to the president were poorly worded, but added that he understands the Motorists’ frustration over Pavel’s refusal to appoint their honorary president, Filip Turek, as environment minister. The opposition is calling on the government to at least apologise for Macinka’s remarks about the president.
On Tuesday, President Pavel said Macinka had sent him messages via adviser Petr Kolář that he considers extremely serious and amounting to blackmail. The presidential office later published the communication. The messages concern Turek’s proposed appointment, which the president has rejected.
Macinka excused himself from Wednesday’s parliamentary session due to a foreign trip to Brussels.
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01/28/2026
Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists' Party) is in Brussels today for his first official visit, the Czech News Agency has reported. He is due to meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas and EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos. On Thursday, Macinka will attend a meeting of EU foreign ministers for the first time in his role. It remains unclear what issues Macinka intends to raise in today’s talks, as the Foreign Ministry has not released details.
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01/28/2026
The editors-in-chief of ten Czech media outlets called on the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to allow all media to attend its press briefings, in an open letter addressed to the Ministry. The move followed a briefing by Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists’ Party), which representatives of Deník N, a Czech independent daily, were not allowed to attend. The editors described this as unacceptable.
In the briefing Macinka was addressing his dispute with President Petr Pavel and the alleged messages he had sent to the president. However, at the briefing journalists pointed out that Deník N reporter Zdislava Pokorná had not been allowed into the room. Macinka responded to questions about the exclusion by saying: “Well, we’re terrible, I know.”
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01/27/2026
According to the Ukrainian news site Jevropejska Pravda, text messages published on Tuesday and sent by Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka to President Petr Pavel’s adviser, Petr Kolář, suggest that the Czech government’s refusal to supply L-159 combat aircrafts to Kyiv was retaliation against President Pavel over his refusal to appoint Filip Turek as environment minister.
In the messages, Macinka reportedly wrote that the sole reason Ukraine would not receive the aircrafts was what he described as Pavel’s “ill-considered” public remarks on the issue. President Pavel raised the possibility of supplying the L-159s for shooting down Russian drones during a recent visit to Ukraine. Macinka criticised those comments, after which Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s government said the aircraft could not be sold because they were needed by the Czech armed forces.
The issue has also been reported by other Ukrainian outlets, including the news agency Ukrinform and the website Censor.net.
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01/27/2026
Foreign Minister and the Motorists' Party leader, Petr Macinka, said at a press conference on Tuesday that President Petr Pavel should not lead the Czech delegation to NATO’s summer summit in Turkey, arguing that Pavel is acting outside the constitutional framework by refusing to appoint the Motorists' MP and honorary party president Filip Turek as environment minister.
Presidential spokesman Vojtěch Šeliga responded that the president’s participation in the NATO summit is a matter to be agreed between the head of state and the prime minister. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) has previously repeatedly said that Pavel would represent the Czech Republic at the summit.
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01/27/2026
The Czech–Danish documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin is heading to the BAFTAs as well as the Oscars. The film, co-produced by the Czech production company Pink, has landed nominations for both of the world’s most prestigious film awards within the space of just one week.
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01/27/2026
President Petr Pavel has announced that he is considering filing a criminal charge against Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists’ Party) over what he regards as blackmail. Pavel made the remarks during a press conference on Tuesday.
Macinka reportedly sent two text messages to Pavel via his adviser. The president described the messages as “extremely serious” and has submitted a report to the security services, while also handing the texts to his lawyers for review. He also shared them on social media.
In one of the messages, Macinka allegedly wrote: “He (the president) can have peace if I get Turek at the Ministry of the Environment. If not, I will burn bridges in a way that will go down in political science textbooks..." He also added that: "If (the president) does not agree to negotiations regarding Turek at the Ministry of the Environment, the consequences will come as a great surprise.” The messages refer to Pavel’s refusal to appoint Filip Turek (Motorists’ Party) as environment minister, citing concerns over Turek’s past controversies, including racist and homophobic posts on social media.
Macinka does not consider his text messages sent to the president’s adviser Petr Kolář to be a form of blackmail. Attempting to influence someone’s stance in politics is the very essence of any negotiation, Macinka said at a press conference later in the day. He added that his stance is rooted in what he described as Pavel’s departure from the constitutional framework, citing Pavel’s refusal to appoint Turek as a minister.
Reactions
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said in a statement to the Czceh News Agency that Macinka’s words to President Pavel’s adviser were “unfortunate.” He added that it was a private communication with an adviser and therefore “certainly cannot be considered blackmail.” SPD leader Tomio Okamura told journalists that he definitely does not take the president’s side in this matter.
The opposition, on the other hand, is calling for the removal of Macinka from the position of foreign minister. However, the ANO, SPD and Motorists governing coalition blocked opposition efforts to have the lower house hold a debate on Macinka's messages this afternoon. MPs from the opposition TOP 09 and STAN then called procedural recesses, bringing today’s sitting to an early close. MPs will reconvene on Wednesday morning.
At an evening press conference, opposition leaders said they insist that Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) clearly address the affair at the start of Wednesday’s session and distance himself from Macinka’s conduct.
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