Czech President Petr Pavel visited Brno’s Mendel University yesterday, where he met with university managers and received the university’s commemorative medal from Rector Martin Klimánek. He then had a discussion with students, who filled the university’s largest auditorium.
During the discussion, in response to a question about his attending the NATO summer summit in Ankara, Pavel stated that the foreign minister cannot prevent him from representing the country abroad, as this would undermine his constitutional powers.
The president has previously announced that he intends to meet with Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) to discuss this matter.
In mid-March, Babis said that he and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) should attend the summit. Before Easter, Macinka told CTK that the government should not allow an “opposition representative” to attend the summit. Macinka and Pavel were previously embroiled in a sharp dispute over Pavel’s refusal to appoint the Motorists’ honorary president Filip Turek as environment minister. Since then, the Motorists have often referred to Pavel as a representative of the opposition.
“The Constitution states that the president represents the country abroad, which means that, as a matter of principle, the president participates in negotiations at the highest level,” Pavel told the students. He said that the foreign minister may not approve of something, but on the other hand, he cannot prohibit the president from representing the republic, as that would deny his constitutional powers.
In the past, both prime ministers and presidents represented the Czech Republic at NATO summits. Pavel has attended all NATO summits held since he took office, in Vilnius in 2023, in Washington in 2024, and last year in The Hague.
According to Babis, however, Pavel attended those summits under regular circumstances, when there was nothing to defend or explain. In this case, he argued in March, it is better for the Czech Republic to be represented by government officials, because the government has decided the budget and knows the strategy for the coming years. The president previously stated that he sees no reason to change the practice regarding participation in NATO summits.
The debate with the students was the central part of the president’s program at the university, taking place in a full auditorium of 350 seats.
“I am happy to have contact with live people,” Pavel told the students. “When there is no social network between us, we have the opportunity to see each other directly and ask questions directly. It is in these discussions that I get immediate feedback, if a good atmosphere is established and people are not afraid to say what is on their minds.”
He added that today it is more common to see one-way communication from politicians, who direct their vision of the world to citizens through their information channels, which he said cannot lead to anything good. “The possibility of an open debate with people is what I value most about the presidential office,” he said.
The students asked in particular about security in Czech and international politics, the day-to-day work of the president, and an outline of future life in the Czech Republic for the younger generation. The debate was moderated by Martina Rašticová, MENDELU Vice-Rector for Internationalization.
