Czech President Pavel Admits Rocky Relationship with PM Babiš, Seeks Compromise

Czech President Petr Pavel admitted he had a rocky relationship with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš — but said he was willing to try and find compromises.

Asked how he would describe his ties with the populist leader, he told the POLITICO Speakeasy at the GLOBSEC forum Friday: "I would say realistic, which means there are ups and downs.

"We have a number of meetings and I believe we will continue to have practical communications," the retired general said, adding jokingly, "I do have some background in defense issues and could use it to explain it."

Babiš and Pavel have been at loggerheads for years, including on defense policy, with the relationship turning adversarial after the former returned to power in 2025. The prime minister, a self-proclaimed Trump fan, and the president, a pro-Western former top NATO military official, have also repeatedly clashed on various other issues, from democratic norms to Babiš's long-standing business conflict-of-interest controversies.

One fight that remains very much open: Who will attend NATO's summit in Ankara in early July. Babiš insists the president cannot participate in the official government delegation, even though Pavel has attended all NATO summits since he became president in 2023.

The Czech government said it will decide on the matter on June 8.

“So far, I have come with a compromise. I hope that it will be understood and accepted,” he told POLITICO Speakeasy. Asked if he would take legal action if barred from attending, the Czech president replied: “I believe it will be necessary, because it is to protect the Constitution. I cannot allow the reduction of constitutional powers of a president.”

On Czech defense policy, the two leaders also don't see eye to eye on Ukraine aid and military expenditure. And while Babiš has repeatedly brushed aside Pavel's objections on the issues and reinforced the government's dominance in the area, he has had to backtrack somewhat in recent months, giving the president some wins.

The prime minister initially wanted to cut core defense spending to around 1.8 percent of GDP — even though Prague pledged to reach 3.5 percent by 2035 at last year's NATO summit at The Hague. But Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna said earlier this month the Czech Republic would add CZK 20 billion (€822 million) to the country’s defense budget before the NATO summit. Prague could even sell state explosives-maker Explosia to increase military investment, Reuters reported.

"Verbally, we are now very much aligned [on defense spending], and we will see what will be the actions," Pavel told POLITICO Speakeasy. "Babiš expressed his will to present his approach to meeting allied commitments in Ankara, I believe he should be given that chance."

The Czech prime minister also decided not to kill his country's flagship initiative to provide ammunition to Ukraine, despite promises to do so on the campaign trail — but said no Czech taxpayers' money would be involved. Pavel was instrumental in launching the scheme.

“Regardless of all the rhetoric, the Czech government understood the importance of the ammunition initiative,” the country’s top general, Karel Řehka, said at the POLITICO Speakeasy Thursday. “When it went into full speed, it changed the ratio of the ammunition expenditure between Ukraine and Russia.”