Derweil in Tschechien... 4/26
30.01.2026
Dispute between President and Motorists escalates
The dispute between the head of the Motorist Party, Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, and President Petr Pavel over the appointment of the honorary chairman of the Motorist Party, Filip Turek, as Minister of the Environment has entered a new phase. In short messages to presidential advisor Pavel Kolář, Macinka threatened the president with "burning all bridges in a way that will go down in the history books as an extreme case of cohabitation" if Pavel did not appoint Turek as environment minister. Pavel described the late-night text messages on Wednesday as an attempt at blackmail and published the text message communication. The president also announced that he would call in the police to investigate whether the text messages constituted a criminal offense.
Pavel refuses to appoint Turek as environment minister because of his publications on social networks that trivialized the Nazi dictatorship and were racist. Macinka currently holds the post of Foreign Minister as well as heading the Ministry of the Environment. However, Macinka and the Motorist Party insist on Turek as Environment Minister.
Political analysts interviewed by the media differed in their opinion as to whether this was really a case of blackmail and who was more harmed by this communication. The dispute had escalated too far in the meantime and was always negative, possibly first and foremost for the government's popularity.
Macinka gave a first example of how he intended to harm Pavel in relation to the NATO summit in the summer. According to an agreement between President Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the Czech Republic was to be represented there by the President. Macinka wanted to prevent this, as Pavel was acting outside the constitution by not appointing Turek. Macinka also said that with him as a supporter, a delivery of L-159 light fighter planes to Ukraine would have come about, which Pavel vehemently supports. However, the defense minister, who was nominated by the small right-wing populist SPD party, rejected this, and the entire cabinet also spoke out against it.
Meanwhile, critics accuse Macinka of not bringing a constitutional action against Pavel over his powers because he fears defeat. Macinka rejects the lawsuit because the Constitutional Court is unilaterally on Pavel's side, which caused outrage not only in judicial circles. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, for his part, called on both the President and the Foreign Minister to ease tensions and invited them to a joint meeting.
The dispute also comes at a time when President Pavel publicly announced for the first time at the end of last week that he would be available for a second term in office if "he was healthy and had the necessary support". Pavel has been in office since March 2023. A term of office lasts five years. The president can only be re-elected once in the Czech Republic.
Donation account for shooting victims
Just over a week after the bloody shooting in the small town of Chřibská (Kreibitz), the population is showing an enormous willingness to help the victims of the shooting. Last Monday, a 39-year-old man killed the janitor of the town hall and injured a further six people, including the mayor of the town, Jan Macháč. The shooter ended up shooting himself.
The Ústí district then set up a donation account for the janitor's surviving dependents, the families of the injured and to support the city. Since then, over 750,000 crowns (31,250 euros) have already been collected in the account (as of 30.01.2026), including considerable large donations from many towns and municipalities from northern Bohemia such as Krupka (Graupen), Hřensko (Herrnkretschen), Rybniště (Teichstatt) and Ludvíkovice (Loosdorf), which each donated around 1,000 euros, but also a large number of small donations from private individuals. The Ústí (Aussig) district contributed 200,000 crowns and hundreds also attended the funeral mass for the former janitor in Chřibská and the Protestant funeral service in Česká Kamenice.
For all those who would also like to donate to the account, here are the details for the account at Bank Česká spořitelna: CZ37 0800 0000 0000 2222 9922 (IBAN), GIBACZPX (BIC).
The most valuable company in the Czech Republic is a defense group
While the world of the stock exchange has suffered a number of setbacks in recent days due to Donald Trump's Greenland policy, there has been an unusual success: Czechoslovak Group (CSG), the Czech arms manufacturer owned by entrepreneur Michal Strnad, has floated some of its shares on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam. CSG received 3.8 billion euros for 15 percent of its shares. It thus replaced the energy group ČEZ as the most valuable Czech company.
According to Forbes, the 33-year-old Strnad has also catapulted himself to the top of the richest Czechs with the IPO of his company. Renate Kellnerová was previously a woman at the top. At the same time, Strnad became the third richest person in the world under the age of 40.
CSG intends to invest 750 million euros from the IPO in further investments and takeovers. The company is considered to be the fastest growing defense company in the world. It was founded in the 1990s by Jaroslav Strnad, the father of Michal Strnad, who handed it over to his son in 2018. Like other defense companies, it grew especially after Russia's attack on the whole of Ukraine in February 2022. It is not a pure defense company, but is made up of a variety of companies in the defense sector, but also mechanical engineering. One of the best-known brands is Tatra, a manufacturer of commercial vehicles.
Founding of the Bohemian Switzerland Mountain Club
Almost 90 years after its dissolution, Bohemian Switzerland once again has a mountain association. It was founded a year ago. But now, as a first major act, it has signed a memorandum with the administration of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, which provides for the coordination of the activities of both partners for nature conservation and a better tourist environment.
The founding members of the association include the municipality of Hřensko, the branch of the Czech Tourist Club in Janov, a district of Hřensko, and the Paal company, which runs the viewpoint, snack bar and restaurant at the Prebisch Gate.
The association sees itself in the tradition of the Mountain Association for Northernmost Bohemia, which was based in Krásná Lípa (Schönlinde) from 1885 to 1938 and was dissolved by the National Socialists in 1938. The first chairman until his death in 1925 was the doctor Johann Hille from Schönlinde. After 1945, the association was never re-established as most of its members were expelled from Czechoslovakia, as were almost all Germans. However, the Krásná Lípa branch of the Klub českých turistů (Czech Tourist Club), which was founded later and dissolved in 1948, preserved some of the legacy of the old association. In 1972, the old Wolfsbergbaude chalet and observation tower were saved by being formally taken over into private ownership (find out more about the tower here).
Rail vehicle manufacturer invests in Děčín
One of Europe's largest repair workshops for freight rail vehicles is located in Děčín (Tetschen). The local company Ryko has now put a new workshop into operation for just over 5 million euros. Ryko will press wheelsets here in future. In this way, 2,500 wheelsets can be processed each year.
The investment shows that Ryko is continuing to grow. In 2025, 5,800 freight wagons were overhauled in Děčín. Ryko is also growing in terms of employment. The plant currently employs 360 people, with plans to hire more, mainly experienced production workers and technicians, especially fitters. Ryko works for customers in 15 European countries. In addition to Děčín, the company also has sites in Mladá Boleslav (Jungbunzlau) and Kralupy nad Vltavou (Kralup on the Vltava).
Low-cost fuel chain expands
Tank Ono is a household name for cross-border commuters from Germany. The chain is by far the cheapest and therefore a popular destination for German fuel tourists. Now the chain, which currently has 46 stations, mainly in the German-Czech border region, is gaining a prominent new location. For the first time, Tank Ono will have two filling stations on highways. The first is currently being prepared on the D4 southbound near Lety and Horosedly in the Písek district, the second on the D1 Prague-Brno, near Divišov. Both filling stations are due to open this year.
Tank Ono is known for offering the same fuel prices throughout the country. It keeps them particularly low thanks to a lower profit margin. It has thus made a name for itself as the cheapest filling station.