As the 2026 NATO summit approaches, the government of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš may be heading into yet another controversy with Czech President, Petr Pavel over the delegation set to attend the summit in three months.
The Babiš government has stated previously that they would like to send a delegation composed of members of their own government, stating that it would be “illogical” for the president to join them.
Despite this, Pavel has reaffirmed his position, sending a letter on April 8 to Babiš explaining that he planned to attend the summit in accordance with his duties as outlined by the Czech constitution. Since becoming president in 2023, Pavel has attended every yearly NATO summit.
Since taking power in January of this year, the relationship between the Babiš government and President Pavel continually sours, from the high profile fallout between Pavel and foreign minister Petr Macinka (Motorist party), to the scandal involving the failed appointment of Filip Turek to the ministry of the environment.
It seems Babiš is testing the waters to see how much, if at all, the Czech president is willing to allow Czechia’s new conservative government to push their bounds of power.
Recently, Babiš has tried to push the topic of the NATO summit to the side, stating that he and his government intend to wait until after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in May to decide the delegation and whether Pavel will attend. Despite this, Mark Rutte visited Czechia to discuss key points with Babiš on Thursday.
Babiš stated that he seeks good relations between the president and his government, while his government’s actions prove contrary.
“Babiš doesn’t deem the issue worth his time at this point, Babiš has his own agenda” says Johanna Holubová, a third year Journalism student writing her thesis on Babiš’s acquisition of the Mafra Media group. “He won’t play mediator and has bigger things to focus on.”
Should President Pavel give in to Babiš’s demands, then it would mark a major turning point in Czech politics, signaling to Babiš and other potentially volatile governments in the future that they can push to get what they want in Czech politics with little regard for the system.
