What the Czech Republic is writing about: Macinka gets an ultimatum from Babiš, Minister Tejc faces criticism over instructions to prosecutors

According to the Aktuálně.cz podcast “Tady končí sranda!”, Motorists chairman Petr Macinka received an ultimatum from Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to stop escalating the dispute with Prague Castle, while political scientist Aleš Michal told iROZHLAS that Babiš’s long-term strategy is to “suck the smaller coalition partners dry.” Renata Vesecká, a former Supreme State Prosecutor and current Motorists MP, rejects criticism of Tejc’s instructions to prosecutors as “a complete misunderstanding of the position of the public prosecutor’s office,” while ANO MP Radek Vondráček argues for less prosecution of “controversial statements,” using the SPD case itself as an example. Police have received a criminal complaint concerning a contaminated site in Šumava, where a military survey begins on Wednesday, although Chief of the General Staff Miroslav Hlaváč warned MPs that soldiers would not be able to handle the remediation themselves. The Finance Ministry is preparing a 2027 budget with a deficit of CZK 389 billion, which neither the opposition nor the coalition partners like.

Macinka gets an ultimatum as Prague Castle continues to elude Babiš

According to the latest episode of the Aktuálně.cz podcast “Tady končí sranda!”, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš indicated to Motorists chairman Petr Macinka that his escalation of the dispute with Prague Castle had gone far enough — Macinka could thus lose his sharpest ammunition in the dispute with President Pavel. Aktuálně.cz ↗ Political scientist Aleš Michal of Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences told iROZHLAS that this fits a broader pattern: in his view, Babiš’s “tendency to suck partners dry” is a long-standing habit that has not always paid off for him. iROZHLAS ↗ Deník N recalled that, according to some polls, five opposition parties could collectively outweigh Babiš together with Okamura and Macinka, while both ANO and Motorists have been losing support in recent figures. Deník N ↗ In Prague’s municipal elections, according to an exclusive NMS poll for Novinky, the STAN movement is being considered by the largest number of people, although they are mostly hesitant sympathisers, while ANO has a smaller but more loyal pool of voters. Novinky ↗ According to a supplementary poll by the same agency for Forum24, 46.2% of surveyed Prague residents are considering STAN, 36.8% the SPOLU coalition and 27.1% ANO, suggesting that the opposition groupings will take votes from one another. Forum 24 ↗

Šumava: criminal complaint, army and Černochová’s criticism

According to a statement on X, police have received a criminal complaint concerning a contaminated site near Zhůří in the Klatovy region, which they are investigating on suspicion of negligent general endangerment and environmental damage. Lidovky.cz ↗ Novinky added that the case had been taken over by the criminal police, which continues to investigate it. Novinky ↗ Forum24 recalled that Prime Minister Babiš announced on Monday that the army would be deployed for the remediation, but on Tuesday Chief of the General Staff Miroslav Hlaváč warned members of the parliamentary defence committee that soldiers would not be able to remove the environmental burden themselves and that a specialist company would ultimately be needed anyway. Former Defence Minister Jana Černochová (ODS) therefore considers the army’s involvement in the survey itself meaningful, but called long-term remediation by the army questionable: “The army is not a remediation company.” Forum 24 ↗ The contract, worth almost CZK 192 million, was originally supposed to go to the private company Dekonta, which is linked to Motorists’ Prague leader Klára Sovová, but the government suspended the tender and Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna (SPD) confirmed that the army would initially conduct only reconnaissance and a chemical survey.

Minister Tejc under fire: misunderstanding versus defence of freedom of expression

Justice Minister Jeroným Tejc’s letter to the Supreme State Prosecutor on the government’s priorities in criminal policy — prosecuting fewer “controversial statements” and appealing more often against disproportionately low sentences for violent and sexual offences — raised doubts as to whether the government was interfering with the independence of the public prosecutor’s office. Renata Vesecká, a former Supreme State Prosecutor and current Motorists MP, rejected this in an interview with iROZHLAS: “It is a complete misunderstanding of the position of the public prosecutor’s office.” iROZHLAS ↗ ANO MP Radek Vondráček defended the government’s approach on Interview ČT24 as well, stressing the primacy of freedom of expression and referring to the recent SPD case, in which the party was initially prosecuted for incitement to hatred over anti-immigration election posters and was ultimately acquitted on appeal, calling it “nonsense.” According to Forum24, he also mentioned former Supreme State Prosecutor Igor Stříž as an example of the tendency to prosecute verbal offences. Forum 24 ↗

State finances: budget, private schools and cuts to inclusion

Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) is proposing a 2027 budget with a deficit of CZK 389 billion, which according to iHNed pleases neither the opposition nor the coalition partners, and the budget will still be amended. iHNed.cz ↗ In a commentary, iHNed added that the “budget glutton” continues to grow and Schillerová will have to decide which chapters to feed and which, by contrast, to put on a diet. iHNed.cz ↗ The savings were also supposed to include cuts worth billions to funding for private and church schools. Prime Minister Babiš initially hinted that these would be limited, but after a wave of discontent he clarified, according to Deník, that no across-the-board cuts were planned — private secondary schools account for a quarter of all secondary schools in the country. Deník ↗ Minister Boris Šťastný (Motorists) also wants to limit spending on inclusive education as part of the savings, which Pirates MP Andrea Hoffmannová criticises: “If we save money on inclusion or on helping children with special needs, society will pay a much higher price.” Motorists MP Miroslav Krejčí disagrees, saying the proposal does not reduce the quality or scope of the services provided. iROZHLAS ↗ Tensions also concern the defence budget — SPD deputy chairman Radim Fiala told Novinky that a reduction in the Defence Ministry’s budget was not currently on the table, although the party is preparing its own analysis. Novinky ↗

Von der Leyen delivers State of the Union address, Czech politicians are ambivalent

In Strasbourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the Union address, announcing, among other things, that the EU would propose banning social media for children under 13 and imposing significant restrictions on minors under 18. Deník ↗ According to ČT24, some Czech politicians found the address lacking in concrete solutions — MEP Jaroslava Pokorná Jermanová (ANO) declared that von der Leyen was “pushing the EU towards a federation,” while opposition politicians, by contrast, praised its emphasis on competitiveness, security and the Union’s position in the world. ČT24 ↗ MEP Danuše Nerudová admitted to being disappointed: “Čekala jsem více,” and according to Ekonomický deník, other Czech MEPs were similarly sceptical, having failed to learn how exactly the EU would improve people’s lives. Ekonomický deník ↗

Under the radar

Three detainees in the case concerning the awarding of public contracts at Prague’s Central Military Hospital were released, but the investigation continues. iROZHLAS ↗ Seznam.cz won a court dispute with MP Filip Turek (Motorists) — he claimed that the company was violating the secrecy of correspondence in an email mailbox, but failed to provide evidence and must apologise. Živě.cz ↗ During the Prague municipal campaign, a spokesperson for Praha Sobě leader Adam Scheinherr drew attention to traffic offences committed by rival politicians — Spolu coalition leader Tomáš Portlík riding a scooter in a bus lane and ANO’s candidate for mayor, Jan Hušbauer, driving in the wrong direction. Novinky ↗ Czech Television plans to lay off up to 350 people by 2030 and cut its programme-production budget by a quarter, yet the ČT Council approved a six-month bonus for Director-General Hynek Chudárek worth five times his monthly salary. E15 ↗ According to the director of the Interior Ministry’s elections department, 23 days remain until the election; 14,500 polling stations and 13 million ballots will be prepared, and commission members will receive higher compensation. iDNES.cz ↗

What hotinfo is watching

Whether Babiš will really stop escalating the dispute with Prague Castle after Macinka’s ultimatum, or whether Motorists will continue it without the prime minister’s support.

What results Wednesday’s military chemical survey of the contaminated site in Šumava will produce and who will ultimately receive the remediation contract.

How the criminal complaint over the contamination in Šumava will develop and whether it will lead to charges against a specific person or company.

How Minister Tejc will respond to criticism from Vesecká and the opposition, and whether the government will revise its instructions to prosecutors.

What form the 2027 budget will ultimately take after comments from the opposition and coalition partners, particularly regarding funding for private schools and defence.

How the declining support for ANO and Motorists, as well as the controversy surrounding Adam Scheinherr and his rivals, will be reflected in the municipal and Senate elections on 9 and 10 October.