Final Word from Tuesday, September 30, 2025

So many Czechs were shocked by the Constitutional Court ruling last week in the matter of undeclared coalitions because, as we wrote yesterday and on Thur., the pro-government media created an atmosphere of certainness about the legal issue. Many of the same media are doing this again with regard to whether Andrej Babiš can be the next prime minister. Pres. Petr Pavel contributed to this atmosphere by saying two weeks ago that many lawyers are of the opinion that the conflict-of-interest law precludes Babiš from becoming the PM unless he first divests himself of Agrofert. A minute later Pavel said that the law is "quite clear." Except that by Pavel's own admission, not all lawyers share this opinion, and this apparently includes Babiš's advisers. Babiš told Echo on Sun. that his ownership of shares in Agrofert is a problem for the company if he becomes PM, but not for him. Pavel, who has since met with Babiš, should use his address tonight to make his own position clear before the elections. [ Czech Republic divestiture rid oneself certainty sell pseudo-coalitions televised nation ]