Overview
- Tens of thousands gathered in Prague in support of President Petr Pavel, with organizers claiming up to 90,000 participants and sister events reported in other cities.
- Civic group Milion chvilek pro demokracii led the demonstrations and says a petition backing the president has reached 600,000 signatures.
- Foreign Minister Petr Mašínka said he and the Foreign Ministry will ignore the president and his office, rejected calls to apologize, and ruled out resigning.
- The confrontation stems from Pavel’s refusal to appoint MP Filip Turek to the cabinet over past racist posts, which Turek disputes, while Mašínka denies any blackmail.
- Opposition parties have triggered a no-confidence vote in Andrej Babiš’s government for this week, and Mašínka argues the prime minister should lead the Czech delegation to the NATO summit as the presidency’s role is contested.