President Petr Pavel is locked in an escalating power struggle with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's new coalition government, just months after its formation.

Babiš's ANO movement won the October 2025 parliamentary elections and formed a majority coalition with the eurosceptic Motorists for Themselves party and the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD). The government, with 108 seats in the 200-seat parliament, was sworn in on December 9, 2025, after Pavel overcame initial concerns about Babiš's business conflicts by securing a commitment to sever ties with his Agrofert conglomerate.

Tensions erupted over cabinet appointments. Pavel blocked Filip Turek's nomination as environment minister from the Motorists party, citing Turek's past social media posts featuring racist, sexist, homophobic content and Nazi memorabilia, including a salute gesture. Turek apologized, blaming bad taste, but Pavel questioned his adherence to constitutional values. Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, who leads Motorists and temporarily took the environment role, sent text messages warning of "consequences" if Pavel rejected Turek—a move Pavel labeled blackmail and referred to police on January 27.

Macinka dismissed the accusation, calling the messages standard negotiation tactics and stating on television that "politics is not a discipline for princesses." He later declared his ministry would ignore Pavel and that the president had "burned bridges."

Disputes extended to foreign policy. Pavel pledged four L-159 aircraft to Ukraine during a mid-January Kyiv visit, but Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna rejected it, prioritizing domestic needs; Babiš put the deal on hold. SPD leader Tomio Okamura, now parliament speaker, removed the Ukrainian flag from the chamber and criticized Western support for Ukraine as backing a "senseless war." A proposed February 17 defense budget slashed CZK 21 billion, falling short of NATO's 2% GDP target, drawing Pavel's condemnation as irresponsible.

Public backlash was swift. On February 1, around 90,000 people rallied in Prague's Old Town and Wenceslas Squares, organized by Million Moments for Democracy, waving Czech, EU, and Ukrainian flags with signs reading "We stand with the president." Further protests occurred on February 15 across 400 municipalities. Opposition parties tabled a no-confidence vote against the cabinet, which failed. Polls show Macinka, Turek, and Okamura with over 60% unfavorable views.

Babiš has played mediator, meeting Pavel on February 4 and stating no escalation was desired. Pavel urged silencing quarrels to protect national interests abroad. On February 23, Pavel declined to veto the 2026 state budget, despite reservations over its CZK 310 billion deficit and defense cuts, expecting legislative fixes.

As of early March, frictions persist over foreign policy alignment and appointments, testing Czech commitments to NATO and the EU amid Babiš's management of radical coalition partners.