Czech leaders clash over NATO representation as president seeks role at Ankara summit
The NATO summit in Ankara has laid bare the growing political divide between the Czech president and the Babiš government. The president insists that he has the right to represent the country at the summit; the ruling coalition has made it clear he should stay at home.
Relations between the president and the Babiš administration have been frosty since day one, when the head of state adamantly refused to appoint Motorist nominee Filip Turek to a ministerial post. They deteriorated further when President Pavel accused the foreign minister of blackmail over the blocked nomination, citing an alleged threat to make the president’s life difficult if he failed to comply.
Since then, the government has made it clear that the head of state should stay strictly within the powers afforded to him and not meddle in the government’s competences. Mr. Pavel’s criticism of cuts in defense spending in the 2026 budget was brushed aside, and his recent recommendation that the Czech Republic should reassess its ties with Hungary following reports that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó had leaked confidential EU information to Russia, was dismissed as “irrelevant”.
Now, the cabinet has made it clear that President Pavel’s presence at the NATO summit in Ankara is not desirable and the country will be represented at the talks by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna, and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka.
As Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Pavel has decided to defend his role.
“The constitution states that the president represents the country abroad, which means that, as the highest constitutional official, the president is entitled to take part in meetings at the highest level,” Pavel said during a meeting with university students in Brno, adding that excluding the president from international representation would contradict his constitutional powers.
Dispute over tradition
Since taking office, Pavel has attended all NATO summits, including those held in Vilnius in 2023, Washington in 2024, and The Hague last year. However, Mr. Babiš argues that Pavel’s previous participation took place under “standard circumstances,” when there was little need to defend or explain government policy. Now, he says, it is preferable for government representatives to attend, as they set the budget and determine long-term strategy.
Foreign Minister Petr Macinka has echoed the prime minister’s stance, saying foreign policy is determined by the government and the decision who should go to Ankara is also in the government’s hands. ‘We do not have a presidential system of government” he added.
President stressing need for compromise
According to the news site Novinky.cz, President Petr Pavel is still pushing to be present at the summit and is prepared to join the government delegation, despite the strained relations with some ministers.
According to two sources from the presidential office cited by Novinky, the head of state now plans to propose to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš that he should join the delegation and only take part in panels held in a presidential format.
“What matters is not whether I come out as a winner or loser in this — but what light it will throw on the Czech Republic ,” Pavel said.
According to the president, personal disputes between the country’s leading politicians are damaging Czechia’s reputation abroad. “No one abroad cares about a dispute between Petr Pavel and Petr Macinka. But they will notice if the Czech Republic does not behave like a standard democracy and if something out of the ordinary is happening,” he argued.