Statement by the President of the Republic at a press conference on January 27, 2026:
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petr Macinka, spends his time trying to influence my attitude towards the appointment of a proposed member of the government. And learn to communicate with me, my colleagues or advisors. So far, I have judged all these attempts to be lenient. But now, in the middle of the night, he delivered two text messages to me through my advisor, Petr Kole, to the address to the Office of the President. I consider the information they contain to be extraordinary inspiration. That's why I decided to publish them in their entirety. I consider the words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the text messages to be an attempt at blackmail. I consider this to be inadmissible and completely unacceptable in our democratic conditions. The minister will state in the text that he has the support of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and the SPD party Tomio Okamura for his action. If I really have the Prime Minister's support in my approach, then the expulsions of Petr Macinka are not only an illustration of the new government's approach to power sharing in our constitution, but also proof that fundamental issues of foreign and security policy have become hostage to personal animosities and nationalism. If, however, he does not have the support of Andrej Babi�e – and I know that he does not – then it is an illustration of the arbitrary and completely irresponsible action of the Motorists party, which is not about the Czech Republic and its citizens, but only about the fulfillment of its own ambitions to make a controversial figure a minister. And at any cost. Threatening and blackmailing the President of the Republic by a government minister is completely unacceptable in any democratic country. At the same time, I consider it important that citizens see how elected representatives are and in what way they represent their interests. At the same time, such an act should show the image and credibility of the Czech Republic abroad. I can say for myself that the insurance does not pay for me and I will continue to rely on the state of the Czech Republic. I am going to file a complaint with the security forces, I intend to forward the sent report to the authorities to assess whether the facts of the crime of extortion have been fulfilled. Petr Pavel, President of the Republic, Prague Castle January 27, 2026 Floors: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.