Czech President claims blackmail attempt by Foreign Minister
Petro Pavel (Photo: Martin Divisek / EPA)

President of the Czech Republic Peter Paul said that the head of the Automobilists party and Foreign Minister Petro Matsinka is trying to blackmail him over the appointment of the Minister of Environmental Protection. This is stated in the post czech president in the social network X.

Pavel stated that Matsinka has long been trying to influence him to appoint one of his ministers. He allegedly does this through personal communication, as well as through communication with Pavel's colleagues and advisors.

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"So far, I have treated all these attempts with condescension," the Czech president said.

However, in the middle of the night, Macinka sent two text messages to Pavel through an advisor, even though he knew the address of the President's office. The Czech president considers the content of the messages extremely serious.

"I consider the words of the foreign minister in the text messages to be an attempt to blackmail. I consider this unacceptable and absolutely unacceptable in our democratic environment," he added.

Macinka claims in his messages that he has the support of the Czech Prime Minister Andrey Babish and the far-right SPD. Pavel is convinced that the foreign minister does not have the support of the head of government, and that his party does not care about the interests of the Czech Republic, but only seeks to make a controversial figure a minister.

"For my part, I can say that intimidation does not work on me, and I will continue to be guided primarily by the Constitution and the interests of the Czech Republic. I am filing a complaint with the security authorities and intend to pass the messages sent to lawyers to assess whether the crime of blackmail is involved," Pavel summarized.

He attached screenshots of the correspondence to his post. In the first message, Macinka states that Paweł has to compromise on Filip Turek, whom the Automobilists want to see as Minister of Environmental Protection.

The Foreign Minister writes that he is going to Brussels to talk to foreign media and foreign partners. He promised consequences for Pavel if he did nothing about Turek.

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Turek was initially considered for the post of Czech Foreign Minister. However, his candidacy was seriously opposed due to his radical statements and critical attitude toward the European Union.

Opponents warned that Turek's appointment as foreign minister could complicate the Czech Republic's relations with its partners in the EU and NATO and cause reputational damage to the country.

Currently, the Automobilists insist on Turek's candidacy for the post of Minister of Environmental Protection. This position is currently held by the party's chairman, Foreign Minister Macinka.

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