Final Word from Thursday, March 13, 2025

Pres. Petr Pavel told Deník yesterday that the conclusion of his hour-long meeting at the Castle on Tues. with ANO Chair Andrej Babiš is that if the two of them don't see eye to eye on three fundamental issues of foreign and security policy, they do indeed see things very similarly. The three issues, Pavel said, are transatlantic relations, the war in Ukraine and the strengthening of Czech national security. This is a promising start for a dialogue on how to achieve the principles on which there is basic agreement, he said. This statement came one week after Foreign Min. Jan Lipavský said at a press briefing with PM Petr Fiala and other members of ODS that it's important for the country to be run after the elections by people who have the CR's national security in mind. Babiš doesn't understand security issues, Lipavský said, and that's why he called Babiš a security risk on Czech TV a year ago. Pavel said nothing negative about Babiš at all in his 19 minutes with Deník yesterday. Whether Pavel intended to or not, he threw Fiala and Lipavský under the bus. They must now convince voters that they're right about Babiš and that Pavel isn't. [ Czech Republic United States Donald Trump Russia 15 minut Kateřiny Perknerové ] ]