What Czechia is writing about: Pavel and Fico clash over NATO's interpretation. Babiš invites judges over the Čapí hnízdo case

Czech President Petr Pavel called Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's statements about NATO's collective defense "serious" and reminded him of alliance obligations; Fico retorted that Pavel, as a former general, would "gladly fight," whereas he himself prefers peace. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš invited the Judges' Union to the Office of the Government so that his lawyer could explain the Čapí hnízdo case to them, after he had attacked judges over rape sentences. On Monday the government is set to approve the second-highest budget deficit in Czech history, even though the coalition and opposition clashed over defense spending and one of the Motoristé MPs disagrees with the budget.

Pavel and Fico clash over NATO's interpretation, Pellegrini joins the dispute too

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico declared that some Western politicians are pushing for a conflict between NATO and Russia, and voiced concerns about the war in Ukraine escalating into a pan-European conflict, Seznam Zprávy reported. Seznam Zprávy ↗ Slovak President Peter Pellegrini responded by calling for extreme caution in statements about Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, saying Slovakia must not cast doubt on its obligations, iDNES.cz wrote. iDNES.cz ↗ Czech President Petr Pavel took Fico on directly, reminding him of alliance obligations and calling his words about NATO serious, Forum24 reported. Forum 24 ↗ Lidovky.cz and Novinky.cz both also carried Fico's response — according to Fico, Pavel, as a former NATO general, would "gladly fight," while he himself prefers peace. Lidovky.cz ↗ Novinky ↗ iROZHLAS carried the same statement by Fico under a headline emphasizing that he was responding specifically to the Czech president's words. iROZHLAS ↗ Aktuálně.cz summed up the whole dispute as a disagreement over the interpretation of collective defense among NATO member states. Aktuálně.cz ↗

Babiš invites judges over Čapí hnízdo, critics speak of pressure on the judiciary

According to Aktuálně.cz, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš went after judges over rape sentences, mentioning his own Čapí hnízdo case in the process. Aktuálně.cz ↗ iROZHLAS wrote that Babiš was responding to Friday's call from the Judges' Union for him to substantiate his statements about judges ruling without evidence, and invited its members to the Office of the Government, where his lawyer would explain it to them. iROZHLAS ↗ According to Forum24, the prime minister called the judges' appeal amusing and invited them to a meeting along with his lawyer. Forum 24 ↗ A Reflex commentary described Babiš's approach as a continuation of aggressive attacks on the courts and the Czech National Bank under the motto "whoever is not with us is against us." Reflex ↗

Critics accuse the government of bypassing the legislative process and of new advisory council statutes

In Sunday's Czech Television debate, Pirate Party chairman Zdeněk Hřib accused the government of bypassing the standard legislative process for major changes, such as the building act, via MPs' bills instead of government bills, ČT24 reported. ČT24 ↗ According to iROZHLAS, the cabinet is also approving new statutes for government advisory councils on Monday, which are henceforth to take into account commitments from the government's policy statement — something critics say will destroy their specificity. iROZHLAS ↗

State finances: second-highest deficit in history and a row over defense spending

The Motoristé, after negotiations with Babiš, confirmed they will support next year's budget in government, Aktuálně.cz reported. Aktuálně.cz ↗ Our article → The government is thus set, according to Forum24, to approve the second-highest budget deficit in Czech history on Monday — the proposal envisages a deficit of 389 billion crowns, and the coalition agreed on Thursday to savings in the order of a few billion. Forum 24 ↗ Not all Motoristé MPs agree — Miroslav Ševčík, in a televised debate, refused to vote for the budget because of rising defense spending and admitted he risks consequences within the group, Forum24 writes. Forum 24 ↗ Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Patrik Nacher called the planned deficit a "crazy" figure in a Czech Television debate, though one that is nonetheless a reality, iDNES.cz wrote. iDNES.cz ↗ The dispute also carried over into the CNN Prima News program — Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček called the rise in direct defense spending above two percent of GDP too expensive and hasty, while KDU-ČSL parliamentary group chairman Marian Jurečka countered that Havlíček is addressing the rising deficit only "cosmetically," Lidovky.cz reported. Lidovky.cz ↗ In the same program, Havlíček also said the government already has measures ready against high fuel prices and will announce concrete steps after Monday's cabinet meeting, iROZHLAS reported. iROZHLAS ↗ He also spoke about gas there — according to E15, storage facilities are a quarter short, but he said there is no risk of shortages in winter. E15 ↗

Under the radar

In neighboring Germany, according to projections, the far-right AfD won the election in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the Left succeeded in Berlin, iROZHLAS reported. iROZHLAS ↗ Our article → Chancellor Friedrich Merz called his CDU's result a "catastrophe," Novinky.cz wrote. Novinky ↗ Russians living in Czechia voted for State Duma deputies outside the consulate in Prague on Sunday, even though they knew their vote would change nothing — according to iDNES.cz, they wanted at least to express disagreement with Putin's dictatorship. iDNES.cz ↗ Former President Miloš Zeman and SPD MP Jindřich Rajchl continue to defend their participation in the Svatopluk association's conference with Russian political scientist Fjodor Lukjanov, who is on the EU sanctions list, Aktuálně.cz writes. Aktuálně.cz ↗ Meanwhile, President Petr Pavel flew to the USA, where he wants to seek support for the Czech Republic's candidacy for the UN Security Council at the General Assembly, Aktuálně.cz reports. Aktuálně.cz ↗ Even the ministries of the ruling ANO movement cannot agree among themselves on new rules for artificial insemination, Seznam Zprávy noted. Seznam Zprávy ↗

What hotinfo is watching

Whether the dispute between Pavel and Fico over the interpretation of NATO's collective defense will calm down, or have diplomatic consequences for relations between Prague and Bratislava.

How the Judges' Union will respond to Babiš's invitation to the Office of the Government, and whether the Čapí hnízdo case will strengthen or weaken trust in judicial independence.

Whether the government will ultimately approve the budget with the second-highest deficit in history on Monday, and how Miroslav Ševčík will position himself on it.

What concrete measures against expensive fuel the government will present on Monday, and how the dispute between Havlíček and Jurečka over defense spending will ultimately be resolved.

Whether the new statutes of the government councils will actually change how they function in practice, as critics warn.