Final Word from Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Pres. Petr Pavel vowed one year ago this week to do everything he could so that the parliamentary elections turned out the way he wanted them to. They didn't, alas, so he has since been working at least to see that the post-election negotiations turn out the way he wants them to. He evidently understood early that Andrej Babiš was a strong opponent, so he chose a strategy of calculated deception. First he built Babiš up by meeting with him four days before the elections, and he further supported him one day after the elections by saying that the possible methods Babiš presented to him for resolving his conflict of interest were "all indeed ways to comply with the letter of the law." Yet yesterday Pavel used the anti-StB atmosphere of the Nov. 17 holiday to cast doubt on this and to state that if Babiš isn't able to resolve his conflict of interest appropriately, ANO should nominate someone else as the PM. Pavel waited six weeks to make it clear that Babiš as PM is not the way he wants this to turn out. [ Czech Republic Velvet Revolution national Blesk ]